Eternal Age
by presidentuziel
Summary: The Time War didn't destroy its participants; it moved them. Stuck in an unfamiliar universe, a young Time Lord must do what he can to save this new galaxy from threats both native and foreign to it.
1. Arrival

It was hot in here.

Though that was to be expected, as the plasma reactors were nearly blown. The whole place was going to explode, eventually, but the young man at the console has way too much to do to worry about the heat. Reapers were about to pour out of that Relay thingy, and while he didn't know what a Reaper was, he knew enough to know that they were bad. So he wasn't going to let them come through the Relay. Thingy.

He knew that this was the console that would shoot the asteroid base into the relay and destroy it. And probably the whole system. Thankfully, he'd already taken care of that. The strange four-eyed species that lived here had some interesting technology, stuff he'd never seen before, but he had managed to get everyone into modified cargo containers, and shot them through the Relay. It had cost him time, but he saved millions, and only took a couple of hours.

Though now his time had run out. The young man tapped away at the controls, and his brow furrowed as he mashed every button he could. He didn't know what any of them did, but one of them had to do it. So he pushed them. A red light went off, and an alarm sounded.

"Oh, I think that might be it!"

He kept tapping, until a second, and then a third alarm went off.

"Bingo!"

He turned to start running; this base was about to crash into a Mass Effect relay, so he wasn't about to stick around. Just as he did, a reverberating bass noise sounded off from, well, everywhere. A cold feeling ran down the youth's spine. The alarms stopped. He turned, to see that the projection had changed. It was some kind of creature. It had no identifiable face. Multiple legs dangled from its body, and it floated in space.

"You are an unknown."

"I am," he replied to the machine-being.

"We demand you explain your race."

"Well you aren't in the position to be making demands right now. I'm the one with the base."

"Irrelevant. It will only delay the inevitable."

"Yeah, well, we've defeated the inevitable before. We just escaped extinction once, I think we can do it again."

"It is unfortunate, however irrelevant, that you have fought so hard to survive, only to face your demise. This cycle is now at its end. Before you are destroyed, explain your race."

"I don't think so. I think I'd rather just destroy the Relay and escape."

"Your doom is inevitable."

"Yeah, you keep saying that. Why don't you just start shouting 'Exterminate' already?"

"Explain your race."

"You know, there is one of our numbers I'll tell you about. He has a name. But who he is, is less important than what he's done. What he represents. And the example he left for the rest of us. We cannot forget him, and I most definitely will not. So even if I am destroyed today, his words will reverberate through time and space, and through me, through my actions. And if he were standing where I am now, I think I know what he would say."

"Then let them be your final words."

"All right then. Allon-sy!"

The young man mashed the button that made the alarms go off again, whipped out his sonic screwdriver and ran it over the console, shutting it down, before bolting down the hallway. The heat started to rise in the base, which only served to quicken his pace as he rushed to the hangar, where the scientists were keeping his ship.

There were guards that tried to stop him, but he ignored them, running past the gunfire, turrets, and grenades, before skidding in front of the armoire that represented his ship. Barely managing to catch his balance, her shoved the key in as one of the scientists yelled at him. He opened it, slipped inside, and locked it just as one of the guards opened fire.

Rushing to his console, he hit buttons, pulled levers, and said, "Doctor, I hope I've done your proud back there. And we could really use your help about now."

The ship whirred and hummed, and hurled the youth through time and space. He let out a sigh of relief, knowing he'd stopped a great calamity from befalling this galaxy, at least for a time.

Now he had to find out WHICH galaxy this was, and more importantly, WHEN.

**I really hate the name I've made. I'll take suggestions.**

**Enjoy.**


	2. Exterminators

"Sir, over here. I've found something."

The Alliance scientist approached his underling. They were clearing out wreckage from a crashed alien starship of a completely unknown design. Nobody had seen anything like it. At least, nothing in their records; they'd gone silent weeks ago. Not because they were in any danger from pirates or anything like that, but because they didn't want anyone knowing what was really going on at this dig site.

The ship they were now focusing their attention on was geometric in design, with several hexagonal prism attachments belting around the middle of a single, larger hexagonal prism. Each prism was dotted by half-orbs that were placed uniformly, though not in the center of each face.

"It's a console, I think. I may be able to get it to work. Should I plug my omnitool into it?"

"Go ahead."

The scientist plugged his omnitool into the console slot, which was, on the surface, nothing more than a plug. The omnitool's connector hummed.

"Uh oh, I've triggered a security block. It's trying to turn on turrets!"

"Everyone run!"

"Wait, there's no power! It's…Opening something."

Sure enough, one of the prisms opened, and a large metal object dropped from it. It landed with a heavy thud, not even a bounce, or even a dent in the ground. But it didn't move. Their guards pointed their rifles at the thing. The younger scientist dared to approach it.

"It looks like a drone."

The drone was round at the top, with a multi-faced prism-shaped lower body. The top, or 'head' was a perfect half-sphere, though with a single protruding rod with what seemed to be a camera on the end of it, and two lights equidistant from each other on both hemispheres. On the body were two more protrusions, one of which looked like a suction cup, and the other seemed to be a tube. The lower body resembled the ships, with the flat face that went all around; it was covered in the half spheres.

"I think it's off," the younger scientist said, scanning it with his omnitool.

"Let's bring it to the lab to study it. Maybe we can access its computer, and learn more," the senior said. Two guards approached, and put their hands on it, pushing the thing, when the lights came on.

"Error! Err-ror!"

The guards were startled by this, but continued to push. The voice was very loud, mechanical, and shrill.

"Scanning!" it cried out, and the guards stopped, pointing their weapons at it. There was a long, pregnant moment as the lights blinked on and off.

"Human signatures detected!"

"It knows what we are," the young scientist stated the obvious. The senior said nothing, just watching.

"Power! Low! Life support, failing!"

"Life support? You…You're alive?" the elder scientist asked it.

"Yes. I require power!" it yelled.

"Right, then, bring it to the main lab. We'll charge it there."

"Are you sure?" one of the guards asked. The elder scientist looked at him, and smiled.

"Quite."

The guards pushed the machine-being to the main lab, where there was a stone assembly, where each stone was glowing, and some were hovering in place and rotating around it, connected by a blue energy.

"Here we are. Can you interface with this?" the elder scientist asked, holding up a cable.

"Affirmative."

"Now before I hook you up, I'd like to introduce you to someone. Kenneth, please open the channel."

"Irrelevant. Charge me now. I do not wish to speak with your leader!" the being said.

"You're not in any position to object my friend."

"You are not. My friend."

"I suppose not, then."

A hologram appeared, emitted from the blue light, in front of the being they'd pulled from the ship. A deep, reverberating, discordant noise emitted around the room. The humans quivered at the sound, somewhere in between torture revelry for them.

"What being is this?" the hologram asked. It hung in the air, insectoid in its appearance. Its arms did not touch any ground. It had six 'fingers' in the front, and a long, sleek, organic looking body that came to a taper, though it was obviously mechanical.

"I. Am. DA-lek!" it declared. The elder scientist gave the Dalek the power plug; its plunger armor grasped it,a nd started taking power.

"Dalek. We are Sovereign. We are the harbingers of the destruction of this cycle. You will serve our purpose."

"You are mistaken. I am Dalek. We are the superior beings. You are inferior!"

"Your arrogance will not shield you, Dalek. You will come to serve me, as they have."

"Incorrect. They are human. They are weak. They are vulnerable, easy to control. You have done nothing Daleks have not already done before. I. Am. Dalek. I am the superior being. You are inferior, worthy only of extermination. Your puppets have done nothing but grant me the power to ensure this. Exterminate! Exterminate!"

The guards opened fire, but the bullets did nothing, merely bouncing off the Dalek's shields. The Dalek opened fire from its gun-arm, each shot taking down another one of the humans. Within moments, the room was clear.

"You are an impressive combination of machine and organics. But like all organic beings, you are doomed. We are your doom. And you will serve us. Serve your doom, Dalek," Sovereign declared. The noise emitted again, but the Dalek did not react.

"Once again, you are incorrect, Sovereign. You cannot control a Dalek as you control a human. And when we meet, you will understand, that Daleks are the supreme beings of the universe!"

"We shall see."

"No. You shall die!"

**Please comment! Comments keep me going!**


	3. Contact

The TARDIS hummed and grinded as it dematerialized and rematerialize. He didn't know how long it would be, so the young Time Lord had some time to relax. He leaned back, and wondered if he should think about what had happened…About the Time War, and the Daleks, and Gallifrey and…

No, he didn't think he would.

He instead returned to his private chambers, and looked through his collection of books. He didn't need books, he could just access any of this on a computer, but he liked to lay down to read, and he liked having something physical in his hands. It meant that he knew it was working. So he picked out the physical copy of his TARDIS's manual.

It wasn't the newest model but it wasn't exactly the Type 40, though he secretly wished he could drive one of those, if only for the nostalgia factor. His was a Type 82, which, at the time of its creation, was thought to practically drive itself. Since selecting this TARDIS, the young Time Lord had learned that was most certainly not the case. The 103 _literally_ flew itself, being completely and openly sentient.

That said, he suspected his own TARDIS at least had a sense of humor; he was always looking for the lavatory.

"So _that's_ why I have to leave the parking brake on, okay. And here I thought I was grinding something…" he said to himself. It was then that he noticed that the noise had stopped.

"Oh, it must have stopped. Maybe now it will give me a year," he closed the book and grabbed his bag, which contained all manner of tools, data cores, and nick-knacks he'd found useful while studying at the Academy. In the control room, he muttered curses; the TARDIS still had no reference as to what year it was on any calendar. He would have to find it himself. At the very least, he knew how far and how long they'd traveled. Across the same galaxy, and backwards twenty nine years.

He'd hoped for forward, but backward would do. At least there were still humans, so he'd be able to blend in easily enough. Eventually, however, he would have to finish his disguise device so that he could pose as _any_ kind of alien within reason. It was nearly complete, so he might have some time to work on it. They might even have the parts he needs on this planet, who knew. He opened his TARDIS, and saw that he'd materialized in someone's bedroom.

"Oh my…" he bit his lip, but nobody seemed to be home. The closet and dressers had been raised for clothes; someone had left in a hurry. The young Time Lord pulled out his Sonic Screwdriver, knowing it would come in handy, and probably soon, if the destruction outside was any indication; something had obliterated the building across the street, though with very little damage done to the buildings next to it.

"-someone upstairs," the young Timelord heard, and he froze. There _was_ someone home, and destroyed human buildings usually meant war, so he bolted back into his TARDIS, closing the door a little too hard and loudly. He winced, holding the door, though knowing the humans wouldn't be able to open it.

"This sucks, I'm hungry, and there's no food to be had here. What are we looking for anyway?" the young Time Lord heard through the speaker.

"A bunch of civilians have gone missing, and General Williams thinks that the enemy may be abducting them. And yeah, I'm hungry too."

"Missing?" the Time Lord whispered to himself, then looked around his TARDIS. He rolled his eyes, he didn't need to whisper. A thought came to him, and he grabbed some food from his TARDIS and cracked the door open.

"Um, hello?" he squeaked. One of the humans held up his weapon.

"Who's there!"

"Sorry!" the Time Lord held out his hand, careful to ensure that the humans didn't see the inside of it, "I was just hiding, I thought the aliens were here!"

The human lowered his weapon.

"What are you doing out here, you should be in the shelter," the soldier growled. The Time Lord stepped out of the armoire, holding packets of food in his arm.

"Sorry, I wanted to be sure that my armoire was safe," he said, patting it, "And I was right. Not a scratch on the old girl."

"You came out here to see if your _armoire_ was okay?" the soldier asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Hey, if _your_ armoire was in danger, you'd do everything you can to protect it, all right? So don't chastise me about keeping my armoire safe. It's very precious to me, it was my father's," the young Timelord was faking tears.

"All right, all right, it's all cool. Your armoire is unharmed, but it's not safe."

"Ah, it's survived wars worse than this one," he insisted.

"…Really? An alien invasion, and it's seen worse."

"This isn't its first alien invasion," he said.

"It's not?"

"Of course not, it's been through a number of alien invasions."

"This guy's a loon," the other soldier insisted.

"I have food!" the Time Lord declared, holding one of the food packets up.

"And a looter."

"Nu uh! These are mine, I swear! I was keeping them in my armoire."

"Why would you keep food in your armoire?"

"In case aliens attacked."

The two soldiers looked at each other.

"We won't tell anyone you were looting if you share," the first one said.

"Deal," the young Time Lord handed them each two packets. The soldiers immediately sat and dug into the packets.

"Omigawsh this is delicious," the second one sighed.

"Uh huh…" the other one gushed, chewing into the bar, "I never thought prepackaged would taste so good…"

"Good isn't it? Nothing like it on the planet."

"Where did you get this stuff?"

"Um…It's an import."

"From Earth?"

"Yeah let's go with that. So, abductions. What can you tell me about them? What's going on?"

"Just a bunch of people have gone missing. People who couldn't make it to the shelters. We've got orders to find out what's going on."

"Oh, well, I've got a bit of experience dealing with that sort of thing. Maybe I can help."

"You do?"

"Well, no, but I was _trained_ to deal with that sort of thing, so maybe I can help. I know the signs of over a thousand different forms of alien abduction. So who are we at war with?"

The first soldier shrugged.

"We don't know. They just started opening fire on our explorers, and before we knew it they were here on Shanxi. They demolished our fleet and they've been blockading us ever since."

"And then they started blowing up buildings and endangering armoires," the Time Lord said, to which the soldier nodded, "Well, like I said, I've been trained to investigate just that sort of thing. So maybe I can help. Has there been any clues? What's happened?"

"We're not sure. Civilians, soldiers, anyone that goes outside, just disappear. Some in groups, some alone. They usually leave things like bags or guns behind, but no bullet holes anywhere to be seen. Just…Vanished."

"Has anyone been acting strangely? You know, besides the stress of being under bombardment and blockade by an unknown alien species? And what do these aliens look like?"

"Well, they wear armor when we confirm sightings of them. Their legs are backwards at the knee, they have huge torsos, not enough fingers. They have these long heads that go out to here. Their technology is a lot like ours, only better."

"So nothing completely beyond you?"

"No, it's all just Mass Effect based tech."

"Can I see one of those sites, where people have been disappearing from?"

"We should get you back to the shelter, and we don't want to end up like the people we're trying to find."

"The more I can learn the more I can do to help. Please. I fed you!" he reminded them, "And I have more. Consider this a bribe."

The soldiers looked at each other. The second one piped up, "I have a daughter. She hasn't had anything to eat in three days."

"We'll feed her and twenty more, I promise you."

"You have that much food?"

"I have a very large armoire."

"Food first," the soldier insisted.

"We'll put it in a box for someone to come pick up, deal?"

"Deal."

The young Time Lord went back into the TARDIS and started taking out more and more packets of the stuff, keeping them in his arms, but not so much so as to look too suspicious. Being a supply hoarder was one thing, but feeding an entire shelter of terrified, starving humans would be a bit much for his cover. He walked out with the armful of packets and dumped them on the bed.

"All right, I only have a little bit left, which I'm saving for myself. This blockade can't last forever, you know?"

"Actually it probably can," one of the soldiers said, stuffing the packets into a box. The other was on a com.

"True, actually," the Timelord admitted. They put the box of food packets on the first floor, and the soldiers led the young Timelord to one of the abduction sites.

"This is it. Last known position of one of our patrols. Their guns were found here."

The Timelord pulled out his sonic screwdriver and started sweeping the area, and he looked at the screwdriver.

"What's that?"

"Sonic screwdriver."

"Is it some kind of Omnitool?"

"You could say that."

He took a close look at the readings, and frowned. That wasn't good. That wasn't good at all.

"We need to leave."

"Fine by me."

"Frank," the second soldier pointed; there was a blue light shining from the alleyway over. The two soldiers raised their weapons, backing away slowly; the Time Lord did the same.

"Please don't let it be them…" the young Time Lord whimpered.

"Who?" the first soldier growled.

Three humanoid figures walked around the corner, each adorned in a silver armor that made them look more like machines. Their 'heads' had protrusions that came out of their 'ears' that rose up and bent at a ninety degree angle, meeting in the center.

"CYBERMEN!" he called out, running in the other direction.

**Part 2 will be up soon. Thanks for the early comments! They mean so much!**


	4. Knights

"Time Lord detected. Delete," one of the Cybermen announced. The second soldier paused to open fire.

"RUN!" the Time Lord ordered. The Cybermen opened fire; the soldier had shields, but his own bullets were deflected by the Cybermen's shields. The Cybermen's weapons quickly overwhelmed his shields, and he was killed, his armor unable to save him. Frank kept running alongside the young Time Lord, who took a right into an alleyway.

"What are those things?!" Frank asked.

"Cybermen. It's my job to keep track of them. At least it was…I need to see whoever is in charge of your planet, and I need to see them now."

"Right, this way," Frank took charge, leading the way. More blue lights could be seen dotting the city.

"How many of these things are there?" Frank asked.

"How many people have been abducted?"

Frank slowed, shuddering at the thought. They could see, from the sky, objects falling; whoever was blockading the planet was starting to react to the Cybermen.

"In here," he led the Time Lord into a subway station. He mashed a button, and they could hear something moving on the tracks. They could also hear the sounds of 'Delete' coming from the surface.

"So you said it's your job to keep track of the Cybermen. Are you from Alliance Intelligence?"

"Yeah we'll go with that," the Time Lord said.

"So the people we're at war with, they're not the first aliens we've met?"

"Um, no, but the Cybermen aren't aliens. They're cyborgs, modified humans. They take out your brain and-"

A single car arrived at the station.

"Get in," Frank shoved him in. Once inside, he pushed a button labeled 'Command' and it started moving, the subway station disappearing in an instant. The young Time Lord panted.

"So. Brains."

"Yeah, they take out your brain and put it into one of their bodies, making another one of themselves. It was my job to track their activities and prevent them from becoming a threat. That's why there's only one of me. Not a high priority job right now, what with the war on."

"Well it just became important."

"Heh, yeah. All right, so, your friend back there-"

"George."

"George. His shields were able to take a few shots. It's got some good tech to it. Most of the time, humans get slaughtered and overwhelmed by Cybermen. Your shields do you a lot of good. You're going to need a lot of them, though."

"So, they're here to make more of themselves?"

"Yes. They're probably using your war to sneak in as many conversions as possible. They were supposed to have been destroyed, but…Something like Cybermen always slip through."

"My war?"

"Sorry, I've been…Pretty focused on other things, the war's actually not at the front of my mind right now."

"So what's your name?"

"Uh…Just…It's…" he grabbed for something. He remembered one of the lessons the Doctor told him about humans: They'll believe just about anything on a first impression, and to use the following name, "Smith. John Smith."

"John Smith? All right, if you don't want to tell me…"

"Oi, that's my real name, that is! I don't go calling you Frankfurter or something."

"Whatever, kid."

"I'm not a kid," he huffed. He pulled out a food pack, and opened it.

"I thought you only had a few of those left."

"I lied," Smith said, and he split the pack in half, handing Frank the other half. The Time Lord didn't _need_ to eat but it helped him think. Frank needed something to vent his frustrations out on.

"I've lost a lotta friends. George's daughter…How am I going to tell her…He's all she had left…"

"What's more important is making sure she isn't turned into a Cyberman right now, Frank. We need to get to your General and tell him what's going on, and see what you might have to expose their ship or facility or what have you. If they turned out the way we or the Daleks did, they might have crash landed here…"

"Dalek?"

"If you ever meet a Dalek, you'll know it. Or you won't, because you'll be dead."

"You're very odd."

"Thanks."

Frank chuckled, and inspected his gear, and Smith double checked that he had the TARDIS key. He did. Without that, the Cybermen wouldn't be able to get into the TARDIS, and he could use it to call the TARDIS to him, as well. He gave it a kiss, a useless gesture towards a machine perhaps, but he felt safe having it nearby. He opened his bag and took a look inside. Like the TARDIS it was larger on the inside, so he could keep any number of things in there. He pulled out his diary, and started reading what he'd written about the Cybermen, to have the details more fresh in his mind. Not that he needed to do so, but it helped him relax, in the same way checking his gear helped Frank relax.

The young Time Lord had sketches, notes, encounters, and theories written out in his diary all about the Cybermen. Near as he could tell, the Cybermen perceived the Daleks as competitors and the Time Lords as a threat, and so they sent elements into the Time War to ensure neither won or survived the war. Either they succeeded, or something else did, because they were not in their original galaxy anymore. It was therefore comforting to have a human nearby. Which reminded him…

"Excuse me, this is going to sound even more strange, but what year is it?"

"The year? Seriously?"

"I've been cooped up alone for quite some time," Smith said, not trying to sound as ironic as the statement was.

"It's twenty one fifty seven, why?"

"Twenty one fifty seven…And you've never heard of the Daleks? They should have been sweeping through human space by this point. Everything must have been changed…Is Earth in this galaxy?"

"Yeah, of course it is, how many other galaxies are there?"

"Billions."

"Oh…"

"So the Daleks haven't invaded Earth. So the Daleks must either be powerless, they're behind, haven't taken notice of mankind, or they don't exist. Let's hope for the latter of those. Because I know whoever you're fighting aren't Daleks."

"What are you talking about?"

"Worst thing ever to happen to the universe, Daleks are. Let's hope I'm right, and they're not around anymore."

Smith went back to his reading; Frank didn't ask any more questions; Cybermen and aliens were way too much for him. At one point he took off his helmet, and ran his hand through his fingers, taking in a few deep breaths.

"Listen, it'll be all right. I learned how to deal with the Cybermen from the best, the first one of my kind to _ever_ encounter them. He's _defeated_ them more times than most have _encountered_ them."

"Isn't this your first time actually facing them?"

"Directly, on the ground, yeah. But I've defeated them before," Smith said. He dug into his bag and pulled out a Cyberman core.

"I disabled one of their ships once, and I stole this right from the chest of one of the Cybermen. And it's a _very _effective weapon against them, too. It fries the data core, but it's very effective. Maybe you have some kind of technology I can use to replicate the effect, and we'll have the Cybermen on the retreat. Then you can go back to starving to death."

Frank let out a chuckle at the Time Lord's quip.

"Oh boy."

"It beats being a Cyberman, trust me."

The train came to a slow, and then a stop. Frank stood, and put his helmet back on.

"Corporal Taylor, where is Private Hawkins?" a human officer approached.

"He's dead sir. We need to speak with General Williams right away."

"General Williams is busy. We've got a new threat on the surface, and he's-"

"I know that, sir, that's why we need to speak with him. Mister Smith here knows about the Cybermen. He thinks he can defeat them."

"Don't interrupt me, Corporal!" the officer was turning red.

"All right, then let me. I need to speak with General Williams. Right now," the Time Lord glared at the officer, "If you want to save your planet, and save every planet in human space, you will take me to General Williams _right now._"

The officer sized up the Time Lord and scowled.

"Why should we believe you?"

"This is a Cyberman data core," Smith held it up, "I've defeated them before, but never on the ground, always in space. I'm going to need help, and so I need to speak with General Williams. Right now."

The officer looked at the data core, and nodded.

"Follow me," he turned, leading them down a hallway and through a number of security doors. One of the soldiers reached for the Time Lord's bag.

"Oi, that's mine!"

"I need to check it for weapons."

"You won't ever stop, then, believe me. We don't have time for you to rummage through my pack."

"Let him go, Hislop," the officer ordered, and Hislop let go of the bag. They were brought to the command bunker, where General Williams was ordering people around. He turned to face the newcomers.

"Lieutenant, what's a civilian doing here?"

"He claims to have intelligence on this new enemy. He calls them 'Cybermen.'"

"This kid?" the General scowled.

"I'm sort of an assigned expert on them. I wouldn't describe myself as an expert, but I've bested them before, but in space. I know a few things that might be able to defeat them."

Williams sized up the Time Lord, and nodded.

"I've been speaking with General Arterius, of the Turians," Williams announced.

"The enemy, sir?" Cpl Taylor asked.

"Yes, our enemy. Their forces are fighting the Cybermen, as well," he took a breath, "We're in the middle of negotiations."

"Then let me speak with him," Smith said, "And let him know what he's in for."

Williams pointed to a com officer to make it happen, and within a few moments, a Turian appeared on the hologram.

"I've never seen a Turian without his armor…" Taylor muttered.

"General Arterius. I have a development. I've received someone that claims to know about the enemy we are both fighting."

"They resemble your people, General Williams, I have no reason to believe that you are fighting them."

"Believe me, General Arterius, they are. They're called Cybermen, and they have been a serious threat to mankind for a very long time," Smith declared, stepping into view.

"Who is this?"

"John Smith. They Cybermen are cyborgs, a union of flesh and metal."

"So not only have you been recklessly opening Mass Effect Relays, you've been developing artificial beings, as well! Are you trying to start another Geth War?"

"I don't know about that, but the humans didn't create the Cybermen. There was a second race from our solar system, very closely related, called the Mondas. They became the Cybermen to survive when their planet underwent a calamity."

Williams gave Taylor an incredulous look.

"Since then the Cybermen have been converting humans into more Cybermen to increase their numbers. I believe they have crash landed here, and are using your conflict to abduct humans and build more Cybermen, or they have a cloaked ship."

"Cloaking has never been proven to be feasible."

"I don't know about that."

"This is a half-witted trick, Williams, why should I believe anything this human tells me?"

"I'm not sure. He only just arrived."

"This is a Cyberman data core," Smith declared, and he activated it, showing the images projected onto the wall. The Cyberman data core showed battles between the Cybermen and the Daleks, weapon data about the Daleks, and recommended advances to defeat them. Near as the humans or the Turian could tell it was just data about some alien the Cybermen had fought.

"I'll have this thing scanned and sent to you, and you'll see, this is _not_ human technology, nor is it based on Mass Effect technology at all. I don't know much about the Mass Effect, but I've seen enough in the last few days to know that _this isn't it. _This is something you've never seen before, and the Cybermen are something _you've never fought._ Now you two need to put aside your differences and work together against a greater threat."

Arterius considered Williams for a moment, before nodding.

"Very well. I will accept your cease-fire, General, and a shipment of dextro-amino food will be shipped to you, but I expect to see your forces fighting the Cybermen."

"Believe me, General, we'll be giving them hell."

The Turian cut the connection, and all eyes were on John Smith.

"Kid, you just saved Shanxi."

"Not yet I haven't," he said, and he pulled out his sonic screwdriver, "We've got work to do."

**Looks like this arc is going to be a three parter. I'd hoped to get two chapters tonight, but that's not going to happen.**

**Keep the comments coming!**


	5. Kings

"Steven, take a look at this."

Lt. Hackett took the sniper rifle from Gunnery Chief Peter Jenkins, and looked through the scope. There was a group of Turians that were pinned down by some Cybermen. The Alliance soldiers had taken to calling them 'Cybs.' Steven was glad to have food in his stomach; shortages had definitely taken their toll. Steven was still feeling weak, but the food had revitalized him and his squad.

"I say we let them slaughter each other and move in. Two birds, one firefight."

Steven lined up a shot with the sniper rifle, and waited for one of the Turians to down its shields before taking its head off.

"No, our orders are to treat the Birds like friendlies."

"They _killed_ Julien, EllTee. Took out an entire city block!"

"And we're going to go rescue them. A friendly is pinned down. We're going to provide fire support."

He pointed to a rooftop across the street

"There. Move out!"

The squad packed up and moved, rushing up the stairs. As they were coming up the second floor flight, a young Caucasian man with combed-back blonde hair and blue eyes wearing a green shirt and a white tie stepped in front of them. He was carrying a bag, which he was zipping up.

"Oh, sorry."

"This is a combat zone! Find safety!"

"Oh, I'm quite all right, I've got an escort team. I think they're fighting some Cybermen at the moment, though…"

Steven looked to Jenkins, who shrugged.

"The Turians?"

"That was them, yes."

"Come with us, then, they're pinned down."

"Oh no!"

The youth rushed past the squad, darting out the door.

"Whatever, let himself get killed," Steven sighed, and they rushed up the stairs, where they set up their heavy gun and sniper rifle. One of the Turians had been shot in the firefight, and the Alliance marines started firing on the Cybermen. One of the Cybermen started firing back, to little consequence. To Steven's surprise, the young man was running _towards_ the Cybs, waving something in his hand. One of the Cybs turned to the man, but he was already upon him, and he flashed something blue on the yb's neck. It stammered and limped as the stranger turned to a second one and did the same. The first Cyb he had gotten to pointed its weapon at the nearest Cyberman and opened fire, and the rest of the Cyberman squad turned on their companion as the stranger went from one Cyberman to the next, dodging and ducking between the shots, before the six or so Cybermen had slaughtered each other.

"That kid is totally insane," Gunnery Chief Jenkins shook his head.

"Brilliant, but insane."

The young man walked up to the Turian squad, and waved his device over the wounded Turian's armor, and they could see its shields regenerate instantly.

"This is Green Squad to the Alliance Marines. Thanks," they heard over the radio.

"So long as you're willing to repay the favor," Hackett replied.

"Anytime. Listen, we lost our platoon, and we need to escort this human to our base. We could use the extra firepower."

"You sure he's not the one escorting you?"

The Turian chuckled, "No, I'm not. It might do both sides some good if our commander sees us arriving with a squad of humans. Just a thought. If you have other orders, I'll understand."

"Our orders are patrol pacification. I think we can patrol in your direction. I'll inform General Williams."

"The only way to 'pacify' the Cybermen is to alter the connections that link them together, like what I did with my sonic screwdriver, only on a larger scale," the Time Lord said. He raised his bag, "That's what this is for."

"Your backpack?" Lt. Hackett asked.

"No, what's _inside_ the backpack. We need to get inside their control center, and hook up a device I need to jury-rig, and then power it with, well, presumably whatever power source they're using to power it."

"Can't we just blow up the control center and be done with it?"

"No, the Cybermen have backups. We need to change the signal, not destroy it. They'll start slaughtering each other, and then we'll be able to 'pacify' all we want."

"Do you have any more of those, uh, screwdrivers?"

"As far as I know, this is the only one left in existence. Sorry," the Time Lord shrugged. He pulled out a pair of paper eyewear. One lens was blue and the other was red. Hackett had heard about these, they were 3D glass from the 1950s. What was he doing with a pair?

"Now, if I'm right, the Cybermen would have the highest concentration of themselves at their command center, converting all the humans they can into more Cybermen. That means they'll be drenched in Void particles, and the highest concentration of Void particles is their base."

"Void particles? What?"

The Time Lord ignored him, and looked around, then dashed for the building Hackett and his squad were just in. Both the Turians and the Marines were caught by surprise by this, and they gave chase, all the way to the roof of the building. More Cyber-Squads were coming into the area, but the young man didn't seem concerned with them. Instead, he just ran from side to side of the roof, looking around, presumably for Void particles.

"There! My, it's massive! It's huge! It's…"

His jaw dropped, and he took off the glasses. He turned to his Turian guards.

"It's a Cyber-King. Over there. You can't see it, but I assure you, it's THERE. Here, put these on."

He put the glasses on the Turian's face, but they couldn't fit right, so he turned to Steven instead, and put the glasses on his face instead.

"Do you see them? The little black dots floating around, over there? It's massive."

"It's the side of a…Of a dreadnaught…" Steven stammered.

"That's called a Cyber-king. This isn't just a slice of Cyberment hat have been biding their time."

He turned to the others.

"This is a Cyberman _army._"

"But…What are these Void particles? Any why are you surrounded by them, too?" Steven asked, taking off the glasses and handing them to the Gunnery Chief. The young Time Lord turned to Steven and smiled.

"The Doctor was right about you humans. You always ask the right questions at the wrong time. The Cybermen aren't from your universe. And neither am I. I look human, but I'm not. Your war got caught up in mine."

"Your people are at war with these Cybermen?" the Turian leader asked.

"Well, no. Well, yes, but no. They'r enot our main enemy, but the Cybermen are involved. They're more of a nuisance, which is why they've got me tracking them. The Council doesn't think I'm particularly important."

"There's a _dreadnought_ below our fleet and you're telling me that your people don't think the Cybermen _aren't a big deal?_" the Turian huffed.

"Much less our city!" Steven added. The Time Lord looked at the two, and nodded.

"I know. The Cybermen deserve a lot more attention than what we can afford to give them, but believe me, if we had the people to spare, we would have spared them. But this is the _first time_ in _three days_ I have seen anything from my universe that wasn't myself or my ship. I could very well be the _only_ survivor of my species," he went from speech to a snarl, "Do DON'T go telling ME WHAT'S BLOODY IMPORTANT."

The young Time Lord was breathing heavily, and the soldiers were silent, suddenly appreciating this young man's position. He shook his head.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get angry. I just…This is the first time I've ever encountered the Cybermen on the ground. Lots of pressure. Let's go destroy a Cyber-King."

**Next chapter is the final installment of this Cyberman arc.**


	6. Checkmate

"How do we enter something we can't even see? How do they do that, anyway, cloaking?" Hackett demanded.

"It's quite simple, really, just cause enough of a phase shift vibration that it's rendered invisible to the naked eye and most light and RADAR-based sensors. After that it's just a matter of heat absorption and displacement for what little excess heat is built up," the Time Lord explained.

"Just that simple," one of the Turians grumbled. The Time Lord put on a pair of glasses, and squinted.

"All right, I want everyone to follow me. Do _exactly_ what I do, and _do not_ show _any_ kind of emotion. Ready? Go!"

The Time Lord took off, and the others were caught off guard by this at first but they chased after him, following his path, ducking behind cover, and eventually stood and walked at a marching pace, his face blank as he walked towards the invisible Cyber-King, which had Cybermen marching in and hour of it, and teleportation sending Cyber-Squads all over the planet. The Turians and the humans obeyed diligently, following in the Time Lord's footsteps perfectly. Steven almost hesitated, but the alien's words of not showing emotion rang in his head. Hesitation is emotion.

He stepped through the invisible wall, and followed the Turian in front of him. The human-looking alien led them into a lift, which they were all barely able to walk into.

"Top button, I think," the Time Lord instructed.

"How come they're not attacking us?" the Turian squad leader asked after the door closed.

"They have thousands of people on this ship. To them we were just marching in to become converted."

"Cattle for the slaughter…" Hackett sighed.

"No. Parts to be put on an assembly line. Not even a living thing like cattle," the Time Lord pointed out, "When this door opens, the Cybermen will not be fooled by us. We were supposed to go to Conversion, not Command. So aim to kill."

"All right. We should set up a firing line. We'll kneel, and, Turians, stand behind us. Use us as sort of shooting cover. Once our field of fire has been cleared, we move in and find proper cover," Hacket instructed.

"We don't take orders from you, human," one of the Turians said.

"Do as he says," his commander stated, "Our shields will be able to take a few hits. Protecting our engineer here is priority. With your lives, Turians!"

The Turians let out an affirmative Humm-Ha! And the humans let out an 'Oorah!' The Tome Lord rolled his eyes as the soldiers got into position. The doors opened, and, sure enough, this was the head of the Cyber-King. And sure enough, the Cybermen turned to them. The Time Lord scowled as he watched the Cybermen go down under the combined fire. There was more than the Cybermen he knew here.

There were…Cyber-Turians, as well. Their bodies were shaped in the same way a Turian's was, with the elongated head, only with the hollow eyes and mouth of a Cyberman and the headpiece that connected on either side of the head. There was a scream of one of the humans as his shields faded and he took a hit to the chest, but the soldiers had cleared their field of fire, and moved in, taking up cover and engaging in an elongated firefight. For the first time, the Time Lord noted that the Cybermen and Cyberturians were using the same kinds of shields as the locals were using.

This technology was not right. While in General William's bunker, he'd snuck a peak at their historical files, and he'd grown to understand that this was an entirely different universe. The presence of void particles proved that theory. A simple observation of the panels and tech had augmented that, as well. And why would the Cybermen be using the locals' shield technology?

It didn't matter. The soldiers cleaned the room of Cybermen, and the Time Lord rushed up to one of the console, removing the parts he'd gathered, and started assembling them.

"They made Turians into these things…" the Turian commander remarked.

"Yeah, they did, which is odd, because they usually just 'Delete' aliens. Humans are widespread throughout time and space, no need to make special accommodations for alien brains," the Time Lord said.

"Except this isn't your universe," Lt. Hackett pointed out, "This is one of our first colonies."

"That's true. The Cybermen probably realized that," the Time Lord conceded.

"So to adapt, they've rescinded their humans-only policy. Which makes this both our problem," the Turian commander said to Lt. Hackett.

"I guess it does."

The Time Lord kept working at the device after a silence, when Hackett turned to him.

"Wait did you say _time_ and space?"

"What, you don't have time travelers in your universe? Pah, you're a human, even if you did you'd just ignore it until it started blinking a red light at you or wakes you up in the middle of the night."

"Or invades our colony."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, you humans love to practice ignorance in as large numbers as possible."

The Turian commander chuckled at that.

"Cybermen coming up the elevator!" the Time Lord shouted to them, and a second firefight broke out. The Time Lord was forced onto his rump as he worked at the device, turning it from a collection of parts and wires into a tangled mess of parts and wires. One of the Cybermen used a force shield mounted on his arm, providing the other Cybermen with cover; the humans made use of grenades to bypass the shield and take it the lead and a couple others from behind. The Cyebrmen were not lining up for the slaughter, however; half of both squads were killed between the two firefights, and by the time the young Time Lord finished, they still had not defeated the Cybermen.

"DONE!" he called out, and he plugged the device into the console. It warmed up, then sparks flew.

"AWW, no! No, no, no!"

"It didn't work?!" Hackett snarled.

"I plugged it into the wrong console!" the Time Lord shouted, and he placed it onto the correct one, plugging it in, and turning it on. By this point it was just two humans and two Turians left, doing everything they could to protect the Time Lord. The device hummed and turned on. This time, no sparks. The Cybermen and Cyberturians stopped, and the squad stopped firing, allowing their guns to cool.

The Cyberbeings regarded the squad, and then each other. There was a silence in the room, have for the device.

"I hope this works…" the Time Lord dared to speak. One of the Cyberturians punched the Cyberman next to it, and it turned into a cyborg slugfest, with the Cybermen teaming up on the Cyberturians first, before destroying each other. The Turians and the humans opened fire on all of them, making it a quick fight.

"Outstanding! Now, let's get this baby into the air!" the Time Lord declared.

"What! Why?" the Turian shouted.

"I'm going to set it to self-destruct, and then we're getting out of here. If I do that on the planet, it would tear it in two!"

"Where are the escape pods, then?"

"There aren't any. Cybermen can survive in the vacuum of space, and can slow their descent through an atmosphere."

"Then how are we escaping?" Lt. Hackett asked. The Turian commander shook his head.

"We aren't."

Hackett turned to Gunnery Chief Jenkins, who'd lost his left cheek in the firefight.

"Well, I guess we should get comfortable then."

The Cyber-King decloaked, and almost immediately the Turian ships opened fire on it. The Time Lord raised the shields, only to find that the Turian ships' weapons were draining incredible amounts of energy from them. On a hunch, he scanned the incoming projectiles, and stored the readings on a data unit. He'd take a look at that later. With a few more taps, he found that the Cybermen were using the local shield technology to augment their own, and activated what they'd completed; that was far more effective at deflecting the projectiles.

The Cyber-King rose above the planet, and he set a two minute delay. Nothing fired back from the Cyber-King, but the Time Lord was not going to risk either the Turians or the Humans fighting another conflict over its wreckage. This technology did not belong in this universe anyway.

"All right, let's hope this works," the Time Lord said with finality.

"The self-destruct?"

"No, my escape plan," he smiled. He rubbed his thumb over his TARDIS key, and sure enough, there was the wheezing hurrr-whirr of a materializing TARDIS.

"What in the galaxy is _that?_" Hackett gawked.

"This, my friends, is my ship," the Time Lord opened it, "Well, don't just stand there with your teeth in your mouth, get in! We've got to leave!"

"Our dead!" Jenkins objected.

"They're dead, get in!" the Time Lord snarled, and the four survivors obeyed. The Time Lord was the last one in, and he dashed to the console, pulling levers and turning cranks. It started to hurr and whirr, dematerializing as the Cyber-King exploded in the atmosphere of Shanxi.

"It's…Bigger on the inside…" Hackett gawked

The Time Lord smirked.

"So it is." He let them gawk for a little bit more before darting to one of the other rooms, and came back with a handbag. He pulled out a white bandage and handed it to Jenkins.

"Press this against your face for five hours, your cheek will grow back. Is anyone else injured?"

"This is amazing! I thought you were just some tech-head kid, you really are an alien!" Hackett was walking about, "This is your ship?"

"Sure is. It's a TARDIS. Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. I use it to go back and forth through time and space. Before I was here, I was in some other alien's space. You might be able to tell me something about them. Varied skin tones from human pink to red, four eyes, sharp teeth, brusque attitudes?" he asked, turning to the Turian commander.

"That would be the Batarians."

"Batarians, right! Nice enough people once you get to know them, or at least save their lives. Anyway, when I arrived in your universe, it was some thirty years in the future on the edge of their space. I couldn't save the colony from certain destruction, but I managed to get everyone out of there."

"Wait, a Batarian colony is going to be destroyed in thirty years? We should warn them to evacuate it now!" the younger Turian said.

"It had to be destroyed," the Time Lord said, "There was no other way, an incredibly powerful alien was about to come through the big star gun thingy. Relay or whatever. My first thought was to teleport it somewhere else, but I didn't have time. Besides, if you warn them, it will contaminate the time stream. All you can do is be ready."

"Was this something else from your universe, like the Cybermen?"

The Time Lord shook his head.

"No. I think it's from yours. But no less dangerous. It gets into your head, tells you to do things. Well, not mine, but it…Anyway. We've arrived. What was your names, by the way? I newver caught them."

"I'm Lieutenant Steven Hackett, this is Gunnery Chief Peter Jenkins."

"My name is Nihlus Kryik, Sergeant," the commanding Turian said.

"Private Kurin Vakarian," the other Turian added.

"What about your name?"

The Time Lord shook his head.

"I'm just some kid with a TARDIS."

The Kid opened the Tardis and stepped out. They were in the subway bunker, three hours after they blew up the Cyberking. Everyone stopped to watch the Armoire materialize, and the Kid step out, followed by the others. Everyone started to _applaud_ them. The Kid smiled and bowed, as if ending a performance. General Williams stepped out of his command bunker to see what was going on; he smiled, and joined in on the applause.

The Kid approached.

"General, I'm sorry to say that not all of your soldiers survived. But they fought and died bravely against an enemy they could never have imagined. I am forever grateful for their sacrifice. And when I say forever, with me? Forever means something. I'll etch their names into the walls of the TARDIS."

He turned to Nihlus.

"That counts for your men, too."

"Thank you."

"Well I guess I should contact the Turian command and find a way to get you two back to your forces. I'm not sure what they're planning for after the cease-fire," General Williams sighed.

"Wait, what? You're not going to keep the cease-fire?" the Kid scowled. The General shook his head.

"I'm going to have to surrender. I don't have any other choice. One of my best squads is missing, and the Turians think that they're responsible for the disappearance of General Arterius. He vanished shortly after the destruction of the Cyber-King. Any minute now the Turians are going to start throwing asteroids at us again."

"I did _not_ just blow up a Cyber-King just for you stupid apes to lose this colony to some dumb birds! You just spent the last few days fighting Cybermen together! That _means _something whether you primitives realize it or not!"

"Excuse me-"

"Excuse you not!" the Kid huffed, and he stormed into the command center and pointed at the communications officer.

"Get me the Turian command," he instructed her. The officer looked to Williams, who rolled his eyes and nodded. Within a couple of minutes, a Turian appeared. It was not Arterius.

"You're not General Williams," the Turian said.

"Hi. I'm the one who flew the Cyber-King into space and blew it up."

"So that was you. What about our squad we sent with you?"

"Most of them are dead, I'm sorry. Sergeant Nihlus and Private Vakarian are still alive, though. I understand there was some…Tension in the last few hours?"

"Yes. A human squad kidnapped General Arterius."

"All right. I want you to follow along with me: You just spent the last few days fighting Cybermen. Alongside the humans. You put aside everything to fight this common threat. Now, when I was on the Cyber-King, we saw that they were converting _Turians_ as well. This means the Cybermen are a threat to you now, too. And even though I destroyed the Cyber-King, there are still stragglers out there, and they will attempt to re-establish the proper connection signals with each other."

"We can hunt them down without the humans nipping at our ankles."

The Kid clenched his fist.

"Listen to me. I am not a human. My people have spent far longer than you can imagine fighting an enemy far _worse_ than the Cybermen. I was the one that they decided wasn't important enough to give a real task so they sent _me_ to defeat the Cybermen with a single ship and no crew. And you saw what _I_ did to that Cyber-King. Imagine what would happen if I were to come back with two more of my people. You and General Williams are going to negotiate a _peace_ or I will _enforce_ one. I have no reason to think that there aren't more Cybermen out there, so the last thing I need is a couple of alien armies that _could_ be HELPING me spilling each other's BLOOD over a ROCK!"

The Turian glared at the Kid for a full minute. Nihlus was watching from the doorway. Upon seeing him, the Turian officer sighed.

"Fine. Put General Williams on. We'll figure out how we can extend the cease-fire indefinitely."

There was a cheer from all the humans. Nihlus's mouth-sides twitched as a smirk. The Kid stormed out of the command center, and let out a long breath.

"I've never seen anyone convince Colonel Jidkiw of anything, much less by _yelling_ at him," Nihlus said.

"Heh. The Doctor was better at those kinds of speeches."

"You've mentioned him. Who was he?"

The Kid stared at the TARDIS, represented by an armoire.

"He was one of my many teachers. He'd been our Lord President two times. He broke all the rules and published the book. He was the greatest of our people. He's also the one who sent us here, to end the Time War."

The Kid chattered his teeth for a moment.

"He was also my grandfather. He taught me everything I really needed to know about working the TARDIS. The last conversation we had was an argument. And I might never see him again. I probably won't."

Nihlus didn't say anything, simply respecting the Kid's silence.

"Names. Right! Nihlus, Steven, can I get those names?"


	7. Master

The Kid hadn't realized just how morbid etching those names into the TARDIS's wall really was until he sat back and looked at it. A sudden realization hit him in the gut. If he kept this up, that list was going to get _extremely_ long. But he was going to need the help. He couldn't do this alone. He wouldn't. At the very least he wouldn't be doing this blind. Nihlus had given the Kid some history texts he had on him, so he knew most of the local species and he was experimenting with some Mass Effect technology from parts he'd collected.

The TARDIS shook.

"Oh, what NOW!" he hissed, clutching to the rail to the TARDIS console, and he looked at the readings. He'd set his TARDIS to go to Earth in the latter half of the twentieth century; there was a reporter he'd wanted to talk to. But now he'd been caught in an artificial time eddy, and the Kid's eyes went wide. There were only a few species that could manage something like that. One of them was the Time Lords. Another was the Daleks. One was a blessing, the other was certain doom.

He set his scanners to detect whatever it was, and he let out a sigh of relief; it wasn't the Daleks, at least. Still, the Sontarans or any number of species, not to mention whatever was local to this universe, could have caught him. There wasn't much he could do except let it happen, so that's what he did. The Kid grabbed his bag and made sure his Sonic screwdriver was handy. The shaking stopped, followed by the hurr and whirr of the TARDIS.

The Kid glanced at the video display. A human was walking up to the TARDIS. He didn't seem startled by it. There was also something…Familiar about this human. Had he met him before? This had to be a Time Lord. The person raised his fist and knocked on the TARDIS door.

_Knock knock knock knock._

A chill ran down the Kid's spine.

_Knock knock knock knock._

This couldn't be. It wasn't. Against his better judgement, the Kid opened the door, to face the person. The man was blonde, though not as blonde as the Kid, and this man's eyes were brown. He was clean shaven. He wore a 21st century formal suit with a red tie. There was a 'T' on the tie made out of hexagons.

"Goodness me," the man smiled, "Of all the Time Lords to have a working TARDIS, it just had to be _you._"

He let out a mischevious cackle, and the hair stood on the back of the Kid's neck. He didn't know the voice. He didn't know the face.

But he knew that presence. Every Time Lord did. The man smiled at the Kid, and stepped aside.

"Well, come on out, then. We have a lot to talk about."

"What do I have to talk to the Master about?" the Kid asked. The Master let out another laugh.

"It's all right, I'm not going to steal all your Regenerations," the Master wiggled his fingers at the Kid, "Come on out. Welcome to Torchwood."

The Kid stepped out of the Tardis, keeping his eyes on the Master, and he locked the TARDIS behind him.

"It's biometrically locked," he warned the Master.

"Yes, yes, I know. Honestly, I'm _not_ going to steal your TARDIS. That would be too easy."

"What year is this?" the Kid kept at least five paces away from the Master.

"August Fourteenth Twenty One Seventy seven. We're above Shanxi. You remember Shanxi, don't you?"

"I was just there. I've gone ahead twenty years…"

"Of course you were. That's why I built Torchwood here, specifically to catch you. I knew it was a young Time Lord but oh-ho-ho my, I should have expected you!"

"What?"

"Come on up, we'll get you some tea. Your TARDIS is safe, if you want to leave, feel free to go, but I'll lock you to this star system if you do without hearing me out. You can go forward and backward all you want, but you'll never be able to leave Shanxi without other means of transportation."

The Kid had no reason to believe the Master was bluffing. Tea it was. He followed the Master through the halls of Torchwood. He looked out a window to realize that they were on a space station.

"Tell me this isn't built from the Cyber-King…"

"Oh please, I'm not an idiot. Granted we have what's left of the Cyber-King, it was rendered completely safe three years ago. I arrived on Earth about twenty years ago in England. Just after your little escapade on Shanxi, everyone was buzzing about the human-looking alien that brought peace to the Hierarchy and the Alliance. Humanity was joining Council Space, and there I was, standing like a complete doofus in the middle of London. I tracked down your friend Steven, and I tried convincing him that I was a Time Lord, too. I tried everything, telling him about Gallifrey, TARDIS's, and so on, but you know what it was that got him to listen?"

The Kid didn't say anything for a moment. He was looking about. They had all sorts of laboratories and such. They were training and experimenting. Ther were humans, Asari, Turians, Salarians…Mostly humans, though. He stopped in his tracks when he saw a Judoon standing guard. The Kid looked to the Master.

"You mentioned the Doctor to him."

The Master nodded.

"The only detail Hackett _didn't_ tell his superiors about. You mentioned your grandfather to them. And they respected your memory of him. Touching, really. When I convinced Hackett, he went to the Alliance, who went to the Council. I told them about our universe, about TARDIS's and the Time War. I told them that if they wanted to avoid being exterminated by the Daleks or deleted by the Cybermen, I was going to need resources."

"Did you tell them about all the times _you_ tried destroying mankind? The Time Lords? The universe, and only the Doctor, I suspect, knows what else."

The Master smiled, "Of course not, I didn't think it was important. Please, believe me, things have changed. I know the things that I've done, but it's not important anymore."

A door opened, and they were in the Master's office. There was a number of trophies on the wall, ranging from TARDIS pieces to a Cyberman head to a Sontaran skull. There was even a Dalek eyepiece. The sight of it made the Kid flinch.

"It's all right, it's all disabled and demolished. I've got almost as much experience destroying Daleks as your grandfather, and _that's_ saying something. Have some tea."

The Kid picked up one of the hot cups, and regarded the Master. At the very least, the Master was acting peacefully. He sipped the tea. Pretty good, actually…

"The greatest threat to Council space is the Daleks. But there are many, many more out there. The Sontarans are raiding the Batarians. The Elcor are dealing with a massive infestation of Krillitane in their colonies. But the one race I am most worried about right now are the Time Lords. You must realize, of all the races, we are the most devious. We are almost as dangerous as the Daleks."

"They should start with you, then."

The Master smirked.

"You're a smarmy little thing. No, I'm talking about Rassilon. I didn't come here with you and all the other Time Lords. Our people are scattered throughout this galaxy and throughout time. But I was left behind in our universe, because of the Council and Rassilon. Even though the Time Lords were lost, Rassilon and the Council clung to what scraps of power they had left and _used_ me _and_ your grandfather to bring them back. In the last moments, the Doctor and I sent them back through into the Time War and into this universe. I came along with it."

Rassilon. The founder of Time Lord society, and its corruptor. He'd been elected _again_ but it wasn't even a true election. He hadn't had an opponent. Rassilon ordered…So many atrocities…

"So you've built this…Torchwood to prevent Rassilon from gathering the Time Lords and doing something to harm this universe."

"That, and so much more. This universe is…United in a very odd way. It's not just the Great and Bountiful Human Empire. This is worth defending."

"I don't believe you. You just want revenge."

"Then let that be my motivation. You can trust me enough to want revenge dearly enough to not betray you, so long as you are useful to me. And so long as I am helping this universe, you'll help me, won't you?"

The Kid glared.

"You're the only one with a working TARDIS," the Master finally admitted. The Kid took a sip from his tea.

"What do you mean?"

"I've located at least three other Time Lord throughout time and space. You are the only one time traveling. I've developed these probes that can go one way, and detect things that are out of time. But they are extraordinarily expensive. That wouldn't be a problem if I had a working TARDIS but my resources, however great, are limited.

"I believe this is because there is something special about your TARDIS. Without the Eye of Harmony we cannot time travel, but yours still can. To send these probes, I need to tear through this unvierse's time and space, and it's dangerous. Lots of radiation, resources, and nasty things sometimes leak through. But the more you time travel, the more history is rewritten, and the easier it will be to move through time. Your TARDIS will sort of 'pave the road' for time travel, in a way.

"And that's what I need you to do. Time travel. Go back and forth. Get involved, observe, learn all you can. Find Daleks and Cybermen and defeat them. And most importantly, find other Time Lords. Put them in places where they'll be important. Get them to me if you can."

"I have no reason to trust you."

"If you don't work with me, Rassilon will find them first. That cannot happen. He cannot be allowed to travel through time or have the power he did. For the last ten years and the years past this I can offer you whatever resources I can. The more you find for me, the more I can help you out. You can't stand there and tell me that following the Council's orders are more important."

The Kid sipped his tea again. It helped alleviate the lump in his throat the reminded him that the Master was right.

"Fine. I'll help you. Where should I start?"

The Master nodded, smiling.

"There are three Timelords that I've been able to identify. One is on Earth, in the year fifteen eighty five CE. Another is on the Asari homeworld of Thessia in Five Hundred Seven BCE. The closest, temporally speaking, is on Illum, ten years from now. That's where I would recommend starting. Learn about the Asari, all you can, before visiting their homeworld before humans had even developed the steam engine."

"I have a means of disguise."

"Good, that will help. I'll do everything I can to find more Time Lords. I'll be expecting you to return any minute now," the Master smirked.

The Kid let out a chuckle, and nodded.

"You…You said you saw my grandfather? Before you came here?"

"I did."

"Would you…Tell me what happened. Specifically."

"All right. The first thing you should know, is that he regenerated…"

The Master missed the sound of the hurr-whirr of a TARDIS. It was the song of his people in a way. Once the armoire disappeared, the Master's smile disappeared, and he stalked down the hall, into a room nobody but him entered. A hologram of a man appeared. He had well-groomed hair, wore a black suit, and his eyes glowed, even on the hologram.

"Koschei, it's good to see you again. It's been almost a year. Do you have something to report?"

"I don't report to you, Jack."

"You're absolutely right, excuse me."

"I do have a development. A significant one. I've finally managed to catch the Time Lord that was at Shanxi. I was right about the placement of Torchwood. From his perspective, he was just leaving the Battle of Shanxi when I captured him. He's agreed to help."

"Outstanding, Koschei, this is great news. We can move forward. What can you tell me about him?"

"He's young. Brash. Easy to anger. If I didn't bluff him, I'm sure he would have tried to kill me."

"Can we trust him?"

"I think so. He's got a soft spot for sentient beings. He's an explorer at heart, and he doesn't trust Rasillon."

"With good reason, of course. You should know, the Shadow Broker is starting to catch onto your activities. You need to be more careful, Koschei."

"I'm plenty careful."

"I'm just concerned."

"The Shadow Broker is acting under my designs, Jack."

"I wish you wouldn't call me that."

"Then don't call me Koschei."

The Illusive Man smiled.

"I guess it doesn't hurt to hear my name once in a while, then. What happens when he's found these Time Lords?"

"Only time will tell."

**I cannot tell you how many people requested the Master's appearance. Well here you go. And a bit of TIM to boot. It only get more better from here! Remember to leave comments!**


	8. Intrusion

The Kid opened the door to the TARDIS. 2185. The twenty second century in the Kid's universe wasn't too different in style and technological parallel. The political dominance of aliens was also parallel, as well as human ambition. So in a few thousand years, this universe was likely to look a lot like his own, but there was a good deal of genetic incapability between humans and aliens; mankind was likely going to have to evolve and split to have aliens they could pair with. In the Kid's universe, humans could mate with just about anything with the right organs, and a good number of aliens that didn't.

Still, this was all so very much. The Kid stepped into the room he'd materialized in, and sat on the bed, thinking. There were other Time Lords, with nonfunctioning TARDIS's. And Rasillon was one of them. The Master's story of his last encounter with the Doctor was still running in his head. The Master was genuinely determined to get his revenge on Rasillon and the Council of Gallifrey. He posed as a human fairly well, then again, the Master had a lot of practice.

The Kid looked up from the bed he was sitting on, and realized that he was in someone's houe, mostly because the person who lived here was staring at him.

"Oh…I'm sorry, I…"

"I didn't order a human courtesan, what are you doing in my bedroom?" the Asari woman asked.

"I…Ugh, I don't have a good explanation. The short answer is I'm sort of lost. I know I'm on the right _planet_ but that's about it."

She looked to the armoire.

"You're lost on Illium, and you're hauling around an armoire like a backpack?"

He shrugged.

"Actually, it's hauling me around. That's my ship. It's actually a disguise."

"Uh huh. Did my boss put you up to this, to get me to take a day off? Because if you were, I'll take it. To haul an entire armoire up here, you must have a whole performance planned. Should I call some of my friends over, too?"

"What are you talking about?"

"What are _you_ talking about? You're the one in my apartment!" the Asari was starting to get short with him.

"I'm sorry, I just parked in an awkward place, I'll move the TARDIS. I'm so sorry for the intrusion, this was all a mistake," he stood, but found himself being held in place by a blue aura.

"Nu, uh. If you're going to intrude in _my_ house you're going to give me an explanation on why you're here."

"I'm working for Torchwood. This is my ship. I'm looking for somebody on Illum, and I accidentally parked in your bedroom. This is actually the second time this has happened, because my Chameleon circuit is on the fritz, so the TARDIS keeps picking people's bedrooms. That's where you'd expect to see an armoire, see?"

"So your Armoire-ship parked in my bedroom because it looks like an armoire?"

"Right." The Asari stared at him.

"Torchwood has some funny tech," she let him go from the Biotic hold. The Kid rubbed his wrists.

"What's your name?" the Asari asked.

"Uh…Smith. John Smith," it was still as good as any, "Most people have just been calling me Kid, though, so I guess that works, too."

"I'm Aethyta. I work at a bar at the Eternity Lounge. I'll call a friend of mine that works in security, and you can have a chat with them-"

The Kid groaned.

"-About whoever it is you're looking for. She might be able to help."

"Do humans frequent Illum? Or should I wear a disguise?"

"You'll be fine, though you might want to think of picking up a new outfit while you're here. I've…Never seen anyone dress like you."

"What, like this? Humans have been dressing like this for _centuries._ In fact the Necktie doesn't go out of style for seven hundred thousand years!"

She raised an eyebrow.

"If you say so. C'mon, quit looking like a sack of drowned kittens," Aethyta pointed for him to leave the room, and he obeyed; this was her apartment. It was quite large and rather roomy, but somewhat sparce with the furnishings. She obviously lived alone, but kept care of her living quarters. There was a painting of her and another Asari. The other Asari had sky blue skin, a small nose and large lips. She was also very well endowed.

"Quit snooping," the Asari said, grabbing his arm; she'd grabbed her purse, and a light went on inside the Kid's head.

"Oh, my bag! Hold on! I forgot my bag!" he rushed back into the bedroom, and into the TARDIs faster than she could catch up to him. He heard her sigh as he grabbed it from his library. If he was going into an unknown world, possibly fraught with dangers, to hunt down a Time Lord that could be anywhere, he was going to need his bag.

Then he realized he'd heard her sigh.

Which meant…

"It's…It's bigger on the inside…" Aethyta had dropped her purse, gawking at the TARDIS around her.

"Dammit…" he hissed through his teeth, "Yes, it's larger on the inside than it is on the inside. I told you, it's my ship."

"But…How? I've never seen anything like this before…And believe me, I've seen a _lot_. Hard not to after eight hundred years…But this is…This is bigger than my apartment! How does a kid like you get something like this?"

"Two hundred."

"Two hundred what?"

"I'm two hundred Earth years old. I spent fifty years at the Academy just to be able to _leave_ my homeworld, and I spent the next fifty years fighting a war that ripped apart time and space and brought me to your galaxy. I'm looking for someone. Someone of my kind. And he doesn't have a working ship, so he could be in incredible danger."

"Time and space? What…Are you?"

The Kid dug into his vest pocket, and put a jelly baby in Aethyta's hand.

"I'm just some Kid."

He stepped out of the TARDIS, and held the door open for her. She reluctantly backed out, still gawking at the blue-tinted interior of his TARDIS. He closed the door behind her.

"Now, Aethyta, I respect that you're eight hundred years old. You are, by every definition, my elder. So after I find my compatriot, I'll take you for a spin in my ship if you'd like; you'll be back before dinner. But for now, I need your help finding him. The fate of your universe could very well depend on it. And it could be the key to getting back to mine. Now that you've wandered into _my_ house after I wandered into yours, I think we're even, right?"

"Yeah. That's fair. So…What do we do?"

"You said you had a friend in security. So call her, and let's go to work."

_Codex, Timelord: Native to Gallifrey, the Time Lords are somewhere between a separate social class and a subspecies of the Gallifreyan people. Time Lords are notable for their incredible intelligence and their ability to understand the time stream of the universe in a manner no other race can. Time Lords dominate Gallifreyan culture, politics, and society, though normal Gallifreyans often attempt to make their voice heard and exercise political power of their own. Int heir native universe, the Gallifreyans are extinct, save for a single survivor, known as the Doctor. Normally, Time Lords travel through space and time in TARDIS's, but since changing universes, there is only one known functioning TARDIS. Effectively immortal, though not invulnerable, Time Lords can regenerate up to 13 times, becoming a new person with the same memories every regeneration._

_Codex, Illium: A garden world, Illium is an Asari corporate haven, free of a number of Council laws and regulations, which allow Illium to legalize things such as recreational drugs, certain scientific research, and even indentured servitude. On the border with the Terminus systems, Illium is sort of a 'gateway' to the frontier worlds, and acts as a place where free trade prospers._


	9. Seer

"So what do you _do_ all day?"

"Take orders, prepare, and sell drinks. Talk to people. That sort of thing."

"But you're…A Matriarch. Why are you working as a bartender in a place like this?" he looked over his shoulder, and then leaned in towards Aethyta, "Are you secretly a spy?"

She chuckled, "Not anymore."

The Kid went back to writing down equations on his napkin. Her boss had yelled at her briefly for showing up late, and now the Kid was waiting for her mercenary friend to arrive. There were all kinds of races here. The only kind he saw from his universe was Catkind, who was following an Asari, her head hung low. The Kid stood to approach her, but Aethyta stopped him.

"She's an indentured servant. Don't interfere with her, her bond-holder could press charges."

"You mean she's a _slave?_"

"Indentured servant. She still has rights, and she's being compensated for her work. It's not your place to get involved here," the Matriarch leaned in, "Between you and me, I think it's disgusting."

The Kid gave her a smile, and kept writing at his equations. After a few minutes, there was the sound of a glass hitting the ground.

"I can see into forever," a Salarian said lazily, draping himself over the chair. His companion, another Salarian looked embarrassed. Aethyta rolled her eyes.

"Not this again! Get him out of here! No Seer in this bar!"

"What's Seer?" the Kid asked.

"It's a new drug. It makes people remember all the things in their past. Usuallyt he good times, but I had a Turian in here the other week that remembered the war in Shanxi. Not easy remembering seeing your brother getting blasted apart by Cybermen."

"Yeah, I was there. That wasn't fun…Well, the last bit was, when I destroyed the Cyber-King. Except for the part where eleven people died there…"

"You were-"

The Salarian was now standing, shrugging off his friend.

"I can see it…The egg! Open it! Let me out! I want to see that light! It's so beautiful!" the Salarian took several steps towards the bar, "I see it…I see her! The little wing flies, flies into danger!"

The Kid thought Aethyta was going to tear the bar out of the floor.

"_What did you say?_"

"The Little Wing is great, but thinks she stalks the shadow that stalks her!" the Salarian said. The Salarian was suddenly lifted into the air, and Aethyta climbed over the bar. The Kid stood in front of her.

"Don't hurt him," he said, and Aethyta shot him a glare, and for a moment, the Kid thought that she was going to unleash her biotics on him, too. The Salarian spoke before she could fully react.

"The Master's servant is the spawn of the destroyer, and the servant stands before me."

A chill ran up the Kid's spine. He turned to the Salarian.

"This isn't a drug," the Kid said, "This is something else."

He reached and grasped the Salarian's face as it babbled on about his youth. A vision of a TARDIS ran through his head, but it wasn't his own. There was pain, great pain. Bleeding, without any wounds.

It took him a moment to realize he was now strangling the Salarian, and Aethyta was trying to pry him off. He let go, and everything hit him. His arm seized, and a sharp pain ran through it and up into his chest. He moaned, and realized that there was more than pain; he was starting to regenerate. With a scream, he clutched his arm,a nd fought it. He wasn't dying. He would not die. He would not be someone else, not yet. It was not his time to die. His head started to glow gold, but he fought it, and it died off. Once it was over, he gasped for air.

"Jeez, kid, I thought you were going to die there!" Aethyta propped him up.

"I almost did," he said, "I could _really_ use a drink."

"Get this guy out of here!" Aethyta ordered.

"No, he's…He could be useful," the Kid pulled out his sonic screwdriver. He barely managed to get back onto the stool; he was feeling very weak, "And I could use something to eat, too."

"I'm so sorry about this…" the other Salarian said, "I told him not to try it, but our work's been really rough…"

"That's a poor excuse to be doing something like that," the Kid snapped back. Aethyta put a drink in front of the Kid; he didn't question it, he just drank it. People were starting to leave the lounge; the Kid had drawn attention to himself _again._ Not something he wanted to do.

"Ah-Hah!" a new voice chimed out. The Kid could hear Aethyta groan.

"No. Not now. Do _not_ do this right now, Conrad," she warned the newcomer.

"But here it is! Just as I've been saying! Red Sand and Seer! I've got you now!" a blonde human with a goatee, dressed in a black, full body armor suit, approached, "You've got no _choice_ but to hand over the deed now!"

"I've told you before, Red Sand _and_ Seer are legal on Illium. And we don't sell Seer here. We don't even allow it. That Salarian had his own supply."

"Aethyta! What is going on!" it was her boss. The Matriarch groaned even louder.

"Oh come ON!"

The Kid managed to stand.

"I'm sorry about the trouble, ma'am. I touched the Salarian, and I had an allergic reaction to the Seer. I wanted to have someone take a look at me, and the Salarian, so I asked for him to not be taken away.

"I've got proof now that you're selling Seer!" Conrad declared.

"What? Is this true?" the bar owner demanded.

"No!" Aethyta insisted.

"I've been with her the entire time, ma'am, she hasn't sold anything but drinks," the Kid insisted. He didn't notice that Conrad was looking over his shoulder.

"Well, get this human out of here! And has your friend been getting free drinks?"

"I'll pay for them myself, and he's waiting for someone anyway," Aethyta said.

"No, no, I'll…Find money, I just need to get to a cash machine and I can pay my tab," the Kid assured her.

"Hey, is this an applied multidimension relativity theorem?" Conrad asked the Kid. The Time Lord looked up at the human.

"Yes, it is. Why do you ask?"

"Oh, this is so cool! Can I take a closer look? I've only heard of this sort of thing, I didn't know it was being taught in universities!"

"Yeah, it's standard. You've…Probably never heard of the Prydon Academy, though."

"Isn't this supposed to be a four right here?"

"See, that's the _same_ thing I told my professor, but he never gave me a straight answer, and I never figured out why. If it was a three, I wouldn't need to drive with the brake, but I never tried using a three instead. I think I will next time, just to see what happens. What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Conrad Verner. I'm a loose cannon cop on the _edge!_" he insisted.

"You recognized a relativity theorem on a napkin from three feet away. And you're a police officer?"

"Well…Um…"

"I mean, if humans make them like you in this decade I've seriously underestimated humans."

"Excuse me for breaking into your little nerd-fest here, boys, but he's gotta go," Aethyta insisted.

"Acually, I think he can help me out," the Kid presented Conrad with his sonic screwdriver, then turned to the bar owner, "If you don't mind me doing a bit of investigating?"

"Is he going to buy a drink?" she asked.

"Uh…Sure, can I get a beer?" Conrad asked, pulling out a few credits.

"Seriously? Two minutes ago he was accusing me of being an illegal drug dealer!" Aethyta objected.

"That guy was _glowing._ I kind of want to know why," the owner said, crossing her arms.

"I am going to burn every armoire I ever see from now on…"

The Kid instructed Conrad on what button to push on the screwdriver, and Conrad expertly obeyed, scanning the Salarian with it before handing it back.

"Is that a miniaturized handheld omnitool?"

"Something like that. It's a sonic screwdriver. Does just about everything. Now let's see…What is it that's making you see into the timestream…"

The Kid looked into the screwdriver and read the scans, and he turned white as Conrad sipped his beer, and made a face at the taste of it, but then noticed that everyone in the lounge was watching them. Conrad stood strait, and drank the beer, trying to look tough; nobody was buying it.

"This…Oh, no…"

"What is it?" Aethyta asked.

"According to this…The Salarian ingested the blood of a Time Lord," he looked at her, "Seer is the blood of one of my people."


	10. The Lead

"I've got an hour for my break, and it took me thirty minutes to get here, which means either way, I'm late to get back to work," Detective Anaya said as she entered the Eternity Lounge, "So this better be good."

The Kid was uploading his readings from the Sonic Screwdriver into Conrad's omnitool. He was still getting used to their technology, but it was still compatible. When the upload was completed, the Kid turned Conrad's arm towards her to show her the readings.

"I need to know the source of Seer. Someone may be in danger."

"What am I looking at?"

"Proof that Seer is actually modified blood of one of my people. It's all a bit complicated, but it would stand up in any court."

"So Seer is actually human blood?" she was looking at the data but didn't seem to be following it.

"No, but it is someone's blood. I'm not a human. This is, uh…A disguise. My people are usually a reclusive lot. I have reason to believe that someone has captured one of my people, and is using them to create this drug, this Seer. I need to know the source."

"Why don't you hand this data over to me, and I'll investigate it?"

"You are welcome to help me out. But if I just hand this over to you and wait, I don't know how long that will be, and my compatriot could die in the meantime. I don't know what's happening to him, and I don't know what Seer does to its users. Normally our blood doesn't cause reactions in aliens, much less humans."

"Listen, you're telling me you're an unregistered, disguised alien, and that someone is using one of your people's blood as a drug. Do you have _any_ idea how this is going to sound to my superiors?"

"You can either give me a tip and I'll walk away and you don't have to report anything to them, or you can help me out. The choice is yours, detective. But understand that I'm very eager to find him."

"I can't help you," she said, "Not if you're unwilling to cooperate with me."

"Dammit, someone's life is on the line!"

"I'll tell my superiors to notify the Legislature about this, and they might ban Seer sales until we can launch a full investigation. If you want to have a chat with the manufacturer, that's fine. There's an Information Broker up the street that might be able to help you out, if you've got the money. And there's a Justicar that's sticking her nose around the major distribution area for the stuff. If you can get her out of my district, you'll be doing the department a favor."

"I don't know what a Justicar is."

"It's sort of like an Asari SPECTRE that investigates crimes, only they operate without authority."

"What's a SPECTRE?"

"You really _are_ an alien aren't you?"

"I've been in this galaxy for five days," he said, looking the detective straight in the eyes, "And the last one of my people I spoke with is our most despised criminal. I don't have a lot of patience detective."

"Can I have my arm back now?" Conrad was wincing. The Kid let go.

"A Justicar is like an interstellar detective that pursues justice at any means necessary within the Justicar Code," she explained, "She's bound to investigate any crimes she encounters, or at least deems important or outside of the capability of law enforcement. This would be the latter case, I think. I'll contact her for you, and let her know, if it keeps her out of the way."

"Fine, thank you. I'll try and avoid getting in the police's way, as well."

"I appreciate that. Aethyta, thanks for the drink," Anaya wrote down some instructions and directions for the Kid.

"Not the last one I've bought for people today…" the Matriarch said as the detective left.

"A Justicar! I never thought I'd meet a Justicar! This is going to be so cool, and far more interesting than Red Sand! And you! A real alien! Wow!" Conrad gushed.

Aethyta opened her mouth to say something, but stopped herself.

"The only reason I'm bringing you along is because you recognize that relativity theory, which is an expertise I could use right now. I don't have much use for people running about with guns mucking up my search, so keep your head in the game, all right, Conrad?" the Kid berated. Conrad hung his head and nodded.

"I'm going to go see this Information Broker. Are you coming, Aethyta?"

"No, I gotta finish my shift. I'll make sure nobody steals your armoire. Call me if you need anything, hon."

"You have anywhere you need to be?" the Kid asked Conrad. Conrad shook his head, "Fine, come on, then."

The Kid and Conrad walked up the stairs. There was a purple Asari at a desk.

"Hello, can I help you?"

"I'm here to see Liara T'Soni."

"Miss T'Soni is very busy, do you have an appointment?"

The Kid dug into his coat, and pulled out his psychic paper, showing her that he worked for Torchwood; it was the only thing he could think of that might have weight.

"No, but she'll be interested in speaking with me."

She nodded, and hit the intercom.

"Miss T'Soni, there is a gentleman here to see you from Torchwood."

"Send him in."

The Kid and Conrad entered. Liara was standing in front of a holoscreen, speaking to a man.

"Have you ever dealt with an Asari commando before? Few humans have. You either pay me, or I will flay you alive, _with my mind," _she told the human. She cut the video, and turned to the Kid.

"Sorry about that," she sat down at her desk, "That was an interesting trick you pulled on Nxseris. A blank piece of paper that makes her think you're with Torchwood?"

"You saw that?"

Liara played the video; it showed that he was holding a blank piece of paper.

"Well I _am_ from Torchwood," he showed her the paper, imprinting his credentials.

"Looks like a blank piece of paper to me," she insisted. He smirked, and put it away.

"You're too smart for it, then. This is Conrad Verner, he's an associate of mine. My name is John Smith. And while I don't have any real ID, I _am_ actually working with, though not _for_, Torchwood."

"I see. There's no record of your arrival, Mister Smith. Why is that?"

"I have a special ship."

"I see. What can I do for you, Mister Smith?"

"I'm looking for the source of Seer. I believe one of my people is involved, and they are in danger. I'm here to rescue them."

"I can help you. But my services do not come cheap, Mister Smith."

The Kid Winced; they forgot to go to a teller.

"I…Don't have any credits handy. But I'm a man with a specific set of knowledge, perhaps I can offer you information in return?"

"I'm afraid without any information about you, I can't trust that you're being truthful," Liara told him. The Kid pulled out his Voidsight glasses; Liara had a few trophies about in her office. Maybe one of them was from his universe. He put them on, and scanned the room; there was a few of them here and there. He approached one; it was a Cyberman hand.

"Really? Do you know what this is?"

"It's a Cyberman hand, from Shanxi. I was there recently, and found a small cabal of them. They didn't stand a chance against my Biotics."

"Oh, well, there goes fifty years of Academy training," he sighed, "What's in that file on your desk?"

"It's none of your business, Mister Smith."

"It's covered in Void particles, like the Cyberman hand. You have something in that file from their universe."

"Void Particles? Universe? What?"

He tossed her the glasses.

"Take a look."

Liara sighed, and obliged him, and paused, then looked to the Kid. He waved, smiling at her.

"What-These are those, what did you call them, Void particles?"

"Well, a visual distortion caused by them. Cybermen, Judoon, Time Lords, Daleks, Sontarans, all of those things are not from this universe. Anything that's from the other universe, or has visited the Void, is covered in the stuff."

"You know about the Daleks?" her voice grew dark.

"They're the reason my people are here. And one of my own people is here on Illium, and they need my help. I know that an a lot more. So what's in that file? I'll trade information for information."

Liara took off the glasses, and opened the file.

"I believe it is a picture of the Shadow Broker's inner chamber."

"I don't know what the Shadow Broker is, but I can take a look," he sorted through the files, until he arrived at a picture.

"That's odd…It didn't look like that before…" Liara said. The Kid was staring at it the picture.

"That's a freaky looking angel," Conrad said.

"Liara, where did you get this?" the Kid asked.

"One of my agents was able to get aboard the Shadow Broker's vessel, and took this picture."

The hair ran up on the Kid's arms.

"Liara, how long has this photo been in existence?"

"What, what is it?"

"Miss T'Soni, there are a lot of things that were involved in the Time War. Sontarans invaded Gallifrey. Daleks and Time Lords fought all over our universe. Judoon were hired as mercenaries to enforce the law by those involved. Everyone directly involved in the war was sent into the Void. Some of them ended up here. This picture? This is a picture of a Weeping Angel. They're assassins with a very peculiar set of abilities. They were hired on both sides. One of them is if they are recorded, or a picture of them is taken, that picture _becomes_ a Weeping Angel."

"Oh, my…"

"And they cease to exist when they are being observed. They can move when they're not being looked at. See how it's covering its eyes? They do that so they don't look at each other. This is just a picture of one, and so it's not a full Angel yet. We need to destroy this picture, and any copies."

"How do I know this isn't some trick."

"Blink."

All three of them blinked, and the Weeping Angel grew closer to the 'front' of the picture.

"This is a trick, it can't be!"

"This is the sort of thing that comes from your universe?" Conrad asked.

"That and more," the Kid said.

"This is the _only_ picture of the Shadow Broker I have," Liara objected.

"You'll have to deal with it. _Burn_ this photo."

Liara opened her desk, and produced a lighter. She held the photo under it for a moment and hesitated, then ignited it. She looked up at the Kid.

"So, Weeping Angels, Daleks, Cybermen, and Sontarans are from your 'universe'?" she made air quotes. He nodded. She smiled.

"That information is worth more than what you're asking for, and you've given me mountains of information on the Weeping Angels, _if_ I can verify what you've aid. The Sontarans sit on the Council, that's a bold claim," she said.

"How about a second Time Lord telling you the same thing? And wait, the _Sontarans_ are on the Council? What's the Council?"

"Galactic governing body," Conrad said.

The Kid groaned, "That's an awful idea, Sontarans on the Council…As if Daleks and extragalactic robots weren't bad enough…"

"You're from the other universe, then?"

"Yes, I'm a Time Lord, and I'm looking for another one of my people."

"You would make a terrible information broker. You can't keep your mouth shut," Liara started

"Well nobody here knows what's going on, someone's got to tell them," he insisted, "So on top of everything I've told you, I also saved your life from that Weeping Angel."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"You should be," he said, "You're chasing one. Seer. What's the source?"

"It's a Volus, by the name of Pitne For. He's been selling it to Eclipse to distribute. He's become quite wealthy very quickly," she handed him a datapad with some information on it about Pitne For and his operations.

"I don't know what a Volus is," he sighed.

"Short, round, live in pressure suits," Conrad mimed a Volus's height with his hand, "They-hrk-speak-hrk-like-hrk-this. Good businessmen."

"So, the profit before morals sort of people?" the Kid asked.

"Not all of them, but yes," Liara nodded.

"Well, I guess this one's got a choice to make: Morals or having to deal with me," the Kid declared, "Let me know if you need anything else."

"I will. Thank you, Mister Smith. Doctor Verner."

As the Kid and Conrad left Liara's office, they passed a heavily armed and armored woman, who entered Liara's office next. She was accompanied by a Turian and a dark-skinned human with a goatee.

"Commander Riley, it's good to see you again."

The Kid turned around, scowling at Commander Riley just as the door closed behind her.

"What is it?" Conrad asked.

"That woman…It's…Like there's something wrong with her. Not, like, she's bad, but like, she's not supposed to be there. Like something's changed. Like she's out of place," he looked at Conrad, "I don't think that was supposed to be her. It was supposed to be someone else…"

"What are you talking about?"

The Kid shook his head.

"This universe is a bit more wibbly-wobbly than I thought it was. Come on, let's go."

**Bleh, not too happy with this chapter. Too much exposition.**

**Let me know if you have an idea for a different name for this thing.**


	11. Operation

"A Justicar, huh? I've met a couple of them. You should let me do the talking. They don't really understand aliens all that much. Different morals, different ways of thinking that might rub her Code the wrong way," Aethyta said as Conrad flew them to the spacedocks.

"This is _so cool._ I'm so glad I met you two! I thought coming out here to the frontier, delivering justice, I'd see action that way, but this is a genuine adventure, right here! Transdimensional time traveling aliens, conspiracy, monsters, drug busts! I love it!" Conrad beamed.

"It is pretty fun, isn't it?" the Kid admitted, "My grandfather told me that he would always have companions with him, usually humans. I guess you two are my companions. After this, you want to go traveling in my time machine?"

"Would I _ever?_" Conrad smiled at him.

"Eyes on the sky!" Aethyta swatted him on the back of the head. She looked at the Kid, and nodded, "It sure beats serving drinks. Nobody listens to me anyway, that's why I left Thessia."

"I'm not familiar with Asari, honestly. I'm guessing Matriarchs are like, really old?" the Kid asked.

"Way to make me feel like a Maiden," she sighed, "Yeah. I'm eight hundred. Asari go through several stages in their lives: Childhood, then Maiden. That's when we go out and explore, find what we want to do with our lives. Then we become Matrons, get the urge to start families and settle down. The last stage of our lives is Matriarch, when we usually hold positions of great power and respect. Of course there's nothing stopping anyone from mixing it up."

"Then why are you serving drinks?"

"Let's not share _all_ our stories at once."

"Oh, I got one! Wanna know why I've got this neato replica armor?" Conrad asked.

"Because you're a dweeb?" Aethyta shrugged.

"I was inspired! I saw the funeral procession of Commander Shepard and her team when they returned from the Battle of Eden Prime. I didn't know them, but I wanted to do something to honor her, you know? Something good with my life, so I saved up, and had this made. I mean, nobody's gonna check ID on the frontier, so I figured, just go around, bust some heads, and bring justice to where the law can't reach!"

"So, essentially, a dweeb?" the Kid asked.

"Hey!"

"Seriously, though, Conrad, there's not many humans that I've met that could have recognized a multidimensional relativity theorem _and_ ask a question like that. I mean, I was writing in Gallifreyan shorthand! Our language is written in _four dimensions_ and you were able to read my _shorthand._ Were you experimented on as a child?"

"No, I've got a Bachelor's in Physics and in Xenolinguistics, a Master's in Applied Physics, and a Doctorate in Xenoscience from MIT and United Citadel University. I just looked at your mathematical syntax and I was able to figure out your numerical system. I've always been smart. Just…A thing."

"Well, at least you went to a good school," the Kid shrugged, "I've known a few MIT alumni."

"Oh yeah? Who?"

"Edwin Aldrin, Ronald McNair, Katherine McCormick…"

"I…Normally I would stop the car, but we're going at three hundred fifty, so…But, wow…"

"Yeah. Not sure if they would remember me if I saw them…Would you like to meet them? We can do a stop at Earth."

"I would sort of stick out," Aethyta said.

"Ah, naw, I might be able to get my disguise device working. You'd be fine," the Kid insisted. Conrad took an exit and slowed the car to a stop.

"This is it," he declared, and they all stepped out. Aethyta pointed at an Asari wearing a skintight red outfit.

"I think that's your Justicar."

The Kid approached; Aethyta didn't seem keen on being seen, and stood behind Conrad.

"You are Mister Smith?" she asked.

"I am," he said.

"I am Justicar Samara. I understand you are looking for assistance in an investigation about finding someone you believe to be in danger?"

"That's correct. I believe he is being used to create this drug called Seer. It's causing dangerous hallucinations, and it causes a severe allergic reaction in my people. I want to find my compatriot, and stop this drug. There are too few of my people as it is."

"Be glad that I am already investigating Pitne For and his operation, else I would not have time for this. I believe he murdered his business partner."

She looked at Aethyta, and stepped to the side of Conrad.

"Matriarch Aethyta. I did not expect to see you again."

"Nor I you, Samara. Of all the Justicars, it had to be you?"

"You know each other?" the Kid raised an eyebrow.

"Aethyta assaulted me on Lusia. By the code, I am compelled to bring her to justice."

"You can try," Aethyta declared; both Asari started to glow blue. The Kid stood between them.

"I don't know much about your _code,_ Samara, but Aethyta is with me. You will lay off," the Kid instructed.

"Do you intend to stop me?" Samara glanced at the Kid; directly interfering was probably a very bad idea. The Kid thought Aethyta was going to take the chance and blast Samara, but it didn't happen.

"We are dealing with one of _my_ people. That means, if you want my help investigating Pitne For, you will respect the laws of _my_ people. Our laws and our jurisdiction do not end at Gallifrey, and we are bound by the laws and conventions of the Shadow Proclamation as well. While that may not mean much to you, I assure you, Justicar Samara, if you attack Aethyta, you will be hunted down by those who adhere to it. Convention thirteen, article ten, subsection nine states that it is illegal for time travel technology to fall into the hands of species that do not develop it themselves. Convention two, article four, subsection one states that an enforcing agent of the Shadow Proclamation is exempt from executive enforcement while on investigation, provided that they cannot be removed from their investigation. If you want a copy of the Shadow Proclamation, I can provide that to you."

Samara looked at Aethyta.

"My code states that I am bound to bring her to justice for her crimes. But I am also not to interfere with an investigation. The latter is more important here, I think."

Her glow evaporated, and Aeythyta's did, as well.

"Was that true, the Shadow Proclamation…Thingy?" Conrad whispered to the Kid.

"Of course it was. I'm just not sure if it has any weight…" the Kid admitted just as quietly.

"Pitne For is holed up in his warehouse. I have not been able to find entrance, without harming innocents," Samara admitted.

"It's a good thing you have me, then. Take me there. You two are going to need something less…Well, more subtle to wear," the Kid said, "You don't mind a little sneaking about?"

"Provided we do not break the Code."

"Good enough for me."

Flanked by the two Asari, Conrad and the Kid approached the warehouse. Conrad was now wearing a formal suit, having stashed his 'armor' in the car. The Kid produced his Psychic Paper to the Eclipse mercenary guards.

"I'm John Smith, and this is Dr. Verner. We're representatives of the Torchwood Institute, and we were hoping to discuss business with Mister For. These are some of our lawyers, Samara and Aethyta."

Samara didn't seem pleased with this deception. The Eclipse guards looked at the Kid's ID, and called it in.

"Sir, I've got reps from Torchwood here that want to speak with you."

"Torchwood? –hrk- I didn't expect them. Let them in, I suppose. –hrk- No harm in listening to what they have to say."

The Eclipse guards opened the door, and the four walked in. The secretary took their names, and they waited for the Volus to arrive. Pitne For was wearing a silver environment suit.

"The pictures never do justice to meeting the real thing," the Kid mentioned to Aethyta, who smirked, "Excuse me, Mister For. This is the first time I've ever met a Volus in person, so I'm somewhat taken aback. I'm Mister Smith."

"That's quite all right. –hrk- I have that effect on people."

"Successful fellow like you, I should think so."

"Why don't we chat over drinks?"

"I was actually hoping for a tour," Conrad said, "I've heard and seen so many wonderful things about your chemicals, Mister For."

"Dr. Verner, was it?"

"Yes, sir."

"I'm afraid I can't do much more than –herk- show you some of our experimentation labs. –hrk- All completely legal, I assure you."

"I'm sure," Conrad nodded, "Torchwood is eager to come to a deal with you."

"We'll start with drinks, though," Aethyta said. Samara seemed to be struggling to avoid smearing Pitne across the wall, but Pitne didn't seem to notice as he led them to a lounge. The bartender started mixing some drinks, but Aethyta got impatient with him quickly, and took over. Samara refused a drink, and a straw extruded from Pitne's suit so that he was able to drink.

"So, what exactly is Torchwood interested in?"

"Well, this sort of drug is something else," Dr. Verner said, "Allowing its users to recall their past with perfection? There are all sorts of applications for that by every military in the galaxy!"

"We've got _SPECTREs _wanting in on this," Aethyta said, taking a seat, "Not to mention just about every police force in the galaxy."

"Honestly, I never thought of Seer that way. –hrk- It's been selling very well as a drug. It isn't –hrk- physically addictive. The users don't get –hrk- a dependency," Pitne admitted.

"Torchwood wants the rights to refine Seer, and negotiate its sale. They want to set up a corporation for you to distribute it. You could go galactic with Seer."

"That's an awful lot of demand. –hrk- Honestly, Seer was a bit of a fluke when I discovered it. –hrk- I may not be able to keep up. –hrk- But I assure you, it's harmless."

"Torchwood wants to be sure of that," Samara said, "Which is why it's important that we see your production, so that we can be sure of its probable legalization for the use by military and police."

"I'd like to see some numbers first," he said.

"That's fair, I can draw some up for you," the Kid said, "How about this: You give us a tour, while Samara here draws up some numbers from Torchwood?"

"Very well. But it may be –hrk- a bit dramatic."

"I work with Cybermen parts, Mister For, it can't be that bad," the Kid said, "Samara and I will be a second, I need to speak with my superiors."

Samara and the Kid were brought to a com room, and Torchwood was contacted. The Kid put in a code that informed their computers he was an agent. The Master himself appeared on the screen.

"Wow, it's been a while since I've seen you."

"It's been a day-Nevermind. This is Samara. She'll fill you in. I'm hot on this one, Mister Saxton. You'll be very pleased with our results."

"I should hope so. You've been working on this for a _while._"

"Remember what we were talking about," the Kid said to Samara, who nodded. The Kid caught up with Pitne For and the others.

"It was a very –hrk- unusual find. My late business partner was here on Illium –hrk- while I was making a purchase. –hrk- I found this wreckage, and there was someone inside. -hrk- Now, I warn you, it's larger on the inside. –hrk- I don't know how it works like that. But if Torchwood can find out, -hrk- maybe we can work out a deal?"

"I think we can work something out," the Kid smirked.


	12. Professor

Pitne led them into the lab, and brought them to what looked like a closed, boarded-up deli shop. This was a war TARDIS. There was enough firepower on that TARDIS to lay waste to Illium, and Pitne For had no idea. He opened the door, and they stepped inside.

"Wow…" Conrad breathed, "Are those spatial reverberators?"

The Kid was stunned by Conrad's comment. He expected him to talk about how it was larger on the inside; instead, he took one look at the orbs sticking out of the walls, and correctly guessed what they were.

"You're the scientist, not me," Pitne For said, "-hrk- Like I said, there was this man, and he was struggling to enter this device. –hrk- He was glowing gold. I helped him inside, and he told me to –hrk- contact someone named Gallifrey."

"Gallifrey isn't a person, it's a place," the Kid said.

"Is it? –hrk- I believe it's some sort of –hrk- life support container. I didn't know how or –hrk- when to open it. It was leaking this –hrk- gold liquid. I hired a scientist to investigate it –hrk- when he got it on his skin. –hrk- He started having illusions and memories of his past. –hrk- That's how Seer got started."

"I see. He must have rigged his escape pod to his TARDIS control as a concentrated reverberator to prevent his molecules from being scattered across the stars. But it wasn't perfect, just enough to prevent him from regenerating, but not enough to prevent leaking. He's stuck in there, between regenerations. God, it must be hell for him…" the Kid said, looking at the 'life support' system.

"You know what this is?" Pitne For asked.

"Sure do. I have one, myself. You're using this man's blood as a hallucinogenic drug."

"I…Had no idea…-hrk-I was going to try and –hrk- find out how to open it, and make a deal with the man…"

"What about your business partner? I understand he came to an unfortunate demise recently."

"I…Shouldn't say…"

"Ah, come on, I'm from Torchwood. I can help."

"It's Eclipse. –hrk- He didn't want to give them -hrk-exclusive distribution rights to Seer. They disagreed. I didn't have a choice but to use them as –hrk- my distributors and my mercenaries."

"Pitne, I promise you, you will not share his fate. I can open that container, and help that man come back to life. There is a Justicar with me. Tell her everything, and she will ensure that justice is served."

"That Samara?"

"That's her. Go to her, and tell her you need protection."

"Are you really from Torchwood?"

The Kid smiled.

"I'm the reason Torchwood exists. Go to Samara. Get the 'numbers' in private. She'll protect you."

Pitne nodded, and left.

"What are you going to do? Eclipse will kill us when Samara starts smearing the walls with them!" Aethyta said.

"Naw," the Kid whipped out his Sonic Screwdriver, and locked the TARDIS doors, "They can't get in now. It's up to Samara and Pitne to get out of here. Now, Conrad, I might need your help for this."

"What do you need?"

"I need you to hold the cover to this thing as I unlock it. It's heavy."

Conrad seemed disappointed to be degenerated to mere muscle, but obeyed as the Kid unlocked the sarcophagus. A Time Lord collapsed, gasping for air, and glowing gold.

"That's…What you were doing at the lounge!" Aethyta said, pointing at the Kid.

"Yeah. It's called regeneration," the Kid scanned the Time Lord, and seemed satisfied with the results, "Time Lords don't really die when they die. We regenerate, we become another person, and we can do it thirteen times. This Time Lord died when his TARDIS was shot through the void, but was able to build this device to prevent his TARDIS from dissolving. It's had more than enough time. Now all he needs is tiem to regenerate."

The Kid walked up to a container on the wall, and opened it, taking a bag from it, "And a transfusion. He's lost a lot of blood. He could die again, and he won't come back from that."

"What if your types aren't compatible?" Conrad asked.

"We're very adaptable," the Kid said, pulling out a tube, some needles, and a pump. The Time Lord twitched, and Aethyta held him down as the Kid started the transfusion.

"Come on, just a bit…There we go. You're well on your way. There you go, regenerate!"

The Time Lord stopped twitching, and the gold faded. The man had black hair, slight jowels, and a long, hooked nose. The Kid grinned. After a moment, the Time Lord opened his eyes, and regarded Aethyta.

"Well. That's a pleasant sight to wake up to," he commented.

"You're not so bad yourself," Aethyta said, helping the Time Lord sit up. He rubbed his head.

"I feel woozy…I didn't feel woozy last time…" he admitted.

"Long story," the Kid said. The Time Lord's eyes went wide.

"You! The Two Suns, I never thought I'd see you again!"

"Pardon?"

"It's me, Professor Thupinur!"

"Professor Thup! Two suns indeed!" the Kid gave him a hug, "How have you been! It's been ages since the academy, it seems!"

"Well, I'm sure it has been!" the Professor laughed, "It's good to see you!"

"You know him, Kid?" Conrad asked the obvious.

"That what they're calling you? Figures you'd take a name like your grandfather! At least it's not as dramatic as 'The Doctor!'" the Professor said.

"Tell me about it. Listen, I've gotta help my friend, but I need you to go to these coordinates in space and time. I'm gathering Time Lords there, the others should be there by the time you arrive. Or they won't, I don't know, time has been working funny lately."

"Oh, my, no, I can't! My TARDIS can't move through time!" the Professor said.

"What?"

"That's why my TARDIS crashed. I was trying to go to Gallifrey three years ago, but my TARDIS fizzled and crashed before I was able to get into my device. Next thing I know this weird little alien is helping me into it, I'm regenerating, I tell him to call Gallifrey, and then this."

"Damn…Can it move through space, at least?"

"I think so, but I could use your help."

The Kid opened the door to the TARDIS to start looking for Samara and Pitne, only to see an Asari being tossed against the wall.

"All I need to know is the name of the vessel," Samara said, "And I will let you go free."

"Screw! You!" the Asari snarled.

"Then find peace in the embrace of the Goddess," Samara said flatly, and prepared to snap the Asari's neck.

"Wait!" Pitne said, "Seer! We can use it to interrogate her! –hrk- I'll get you some, but you must promise not to kill me, Justicar!"

Samara hesitated, but nodded.

"I will spare you, in exchange for your help, then, Pitne For. But know that if our paths cross again, and you are acting ill befitting…"

"I promise, no more drugs, -hrk- no more smuggling, I've had it!" Pitne, Samara, and her hostage entered the TARDIS.

"That sounds like the bloke, but he was wearing a different suit," the Professor noted about Pitne, watching the Volus scuttle off.

"That's him. Pitne For. You've got a lot of hard questions to ask him," the Kid explained.

"I do?"

"He's the reason you feel woozy."

"Oh, well, I guess I do, then. Come on, let's get this baby out of here."

"Right with you, professor!"

The two Time Lords started hitting buttons and twisting nobs. This TARDIS was more uniform and the console was more 'planned' than the Kid's. There were also a lot more controls; there had to be, since this TARDIS was better armed than some Empires.

"Nothing's happening!" the Professor groaned. Conrad flipped a switch on the console and it started to hum. The two Time Lords looked at him, and the human shrugged.

"It was a hunch…"

The humming eventually stopped, as did Samara's interrogation of the Eclipse merc. Samara raised her fist for a killing blow.

"No! Don't do it, Samara!" the Kid objected, "Let her go, she's defeated!"

"I am compelled-"

"By nothing, she's done nothing but her job! You've already violated her mind, let that be enough punishment!" the Kid stood over Samara. The Justicar looked at the kid, and dropped the merc.

"You're a lot like your grandfather," the Professor said. The Kid turned to him.

"What?"

"You're a lot like the Doctor. We were friends, when we were young. I wasn't part of his little clique, but I could have been. You have his same sense of compassion. You always have. That's why you were my favorite student. All of the admirable qualities of your grandfather with half the snark."

Samara disposed of the now-unconscious Asari outside of the TARDIS and closed the door. She looked about.

"It's larger on the inside."

"It is. And why did you dump her out there, we've got to go out there!" the Kid opened the door. They were in front of Aethyta's apartment.

"My apologies. Aethyta, we have unfinished business, and your role in this investigation is over."

"Aw, no, come on, Samara, leave it alone!" the Kid moaned, "I've had about enough of you already!"

"Samara," Aethyta sighed, "Is there _anything_ I can do to stop this stupid feud? An oath, an apology, what? I was young, and stupid. I've moved on. Until you attacked me on Thessia I'd practically forgotten. I don't want to fight, and I don't want to die. Is there an alternative?"

Samara looked to the Kid.

"You are a very unusual man," she said.

"I like to think so."

"Is there more to your mission, rescuing these time machines?"

"At least two more. One on Earth some six hundred years ago, and another in old Thessia."

"Aethyta. You ask for repentance for your crime. I will grant it, but you must dedicate yourself to this man's cause. His morals are your morals. His judgments are yours. Do you accept this burden?"

Aethyta sighed.

"Yeah. I do."

Samara glowed, held her hand on Aethyta's forehead, and the glow transferred to Aethyta.

"And so that is your oath, your punishment, and your burden. Mister Smith-"

"Just call me Kid."

"Kid. Thank you. You have done much for me."

"You could come with us. See the stars, visit old places. Plenty of room in my TARDIS."

"No, my place is here, in this time. I have much to do and answer for. But perhaps, one day, I will take you up on that offer."

"All right. Keep true, or...Something."

"And you, as well, Mister Smith," the Justicar walked away, ignoring all the glances and gawks. The Kid sighed. He'd found the Professor. Now the hard part was explaining who he was working with…


	13. Council

The Master grinned at the sounds of TARDIS's appearing. One of them was absolutely huge, still disguised as a Deli shop, and the other a simple armoire. The armoire appeared first, though the other was just behind. The Kid and an Asari the Master didn't recognize stepped out of the armoire, and two men stepped out of the other; one had black hair, the other had blonde.

"Welcome to Torchwood!" the Master approached, arms wide to the two men.

"So that's your new face, huh?" the black-haired one raised his eyebrow, and the Master nodded.

"I can understand if you have more than a few questions," the Master insisted, "Why don't we get you settled in, and I'll explain everything."

"The Kid explained quite a bit," the Professor nodded, and the Master's smile grew bigger-the Kid didn't think that was possible.

"Master, this is Doctor Conrad Verner. I think he might like to take a look at some of the tech you've gathered. And this is Matriarch Aethyta. I think she might appreciate having a take a look at some of your operations. I picked them up on Illium, and I thought they would appreciate the chance to move about the timestream with me," the Kid explained.

"Yes, of course, see that they get the chance," the Master told a Salarian assistant, who led the Kid's companions as the Master led the other two Timelords away to the Master's office. Once inside,t eh Kid locked the door with his sonic screwdriver. The Master sighed.

"What's this..." he groaned.

"You can't be trusted," the Professor said, "The Kid told me what you told him. So I'm filled in. I believe you, by the way, I do think Rassilon's a right bastard that needs to be taken down. I executed a number of his orders before deserting the army and fighting the Daleks on my own."

"So what's the problem?"

"You're the Master. You can't be trusted. I can't think of a single instance in which you could be trusted! _Billions_ are dead because of you."

"So what, you're going to kill me?" the Master smirked.

"No. You're going to step aside, and you're handing Torchwood over to me. That will be a start," the Professor stated, crossing his arms. The Master's smile disappeared.

"So you're taking over."

"In a way. I've got the knowledge and the know-how, you're an expert at making plans, so we're working together. But I won't work under you. I won't have the things I know and the things I'm capable of suddenly being used to collapse this universe or something to that effect. I won't have it. We're here to defeat Rassilon first. Once we've done that, we'll concentrate on reconstituting the Time Lords, if that's possible. Other than that, we're going to be the enforcers of the Shadow Proclamation. From what I've read and heard about this universe, they're children in the darkness. Sontarans, Daleks, Cybermen, they're still all out there."

The Master glanced at the Kid, who was simply leaning against the wall.

"I'm guessing you've got some kind of way of enforcing all this on me?" the Master guessed.

"Aside from having the only working TARDIS?" the Kid said, "I've got records. I hand those over to the Council and you become hated and hunted all over again."

"You've got it all planned out, then?" the Master's smile returned. That probably wasn't a good thing.

"I'm sure I'll gather more material," the Kid added, "The same what the Professor said goes for me. I'll work _with_ you. Not _for_ you."

"The first New Council of the Time Lords then," the Master's playful smile now showed teeth. The Kid never expected the Master to look like a puppy about to go at its favorite toy.

"I suppose so," the Kid shrugged, "My companions and I are going to the Krogan rebellions before we find the next Time Lord. I want to learn more of this universe, and possibly prevent the Sontarans from getting a place on the Council. I'd rather not have an enemy that invaded Gallifrey having executive power in this galaxy."

"The Sontarans are fighting a civil war," the Master said, "Between the 'breeders' and the 'cloners.' The Council added a Turian councilor ten years ago after the Shanxi war as a result of the Sontarans getting weaker, and the Turians' role in the defeat of the Cybermen."

"Why would they add the Turians?"

"The Council relies on its sitting members to enforce the peace in the galaxy. Being a Council race allows them to boost their military power," the Master explained, "But with the Sontarans in civil war, there haven't been enough ships and personnel to fill in security needs. So they figured it was time to give the Turians their due and they added them to the Council. The Turians are still treated as being a 'lower rung' than the rest of them."

"And the Humans aren't even _on_ the Council," the Professor commented, "I can't imagine what that's like for them, they like to be in the middle of everything."

"I'm sure they'll find a way onto the Council soon enough," the Master assured him.

"I don't get it," Aethyta said, "I thought the Professor's, uh, TARDIS wasn't working right?"

The Kid juggled a knob and pulled out a tube from the console.

"Well, think of it this way, you know when you're taking a bath, and you've got two toys, and one of them moves in front of the other, and the other follows it for a bit?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, it's nothing like that, but if it helps, you can think of it that way."

"He was riding in your TARDIS's wake?"

"Yes. But no. But yes."

"Right. Crystal clear there, buddy," she rolled her eyes, "So how are you going to explain two unfamiliar aliens walking around fifteen hundred years before they're supposed to show up in the galaxy?"

The Kid pulled out a wristwatch from his pocket, and handed it to her.

"Put it on, and set it to 'human,'" he instructed, and she did so. It shimmered, and she turned into a human with tan skin and black hair, with her facial features the same.

"Woah, now _this_ is cool."

"I'll have to build one for Conrad, so we're not headed to the past just yet. We're going to the Citadel. Conrad can probably pull off a Batarian, and I'll try an Asari."

"Sorry hon, but you don't have the equipment for one of my people," Aethyta said. The Kid shrugged.

"Strip."

Conrad looked up from the TARDIS manual he was reading.

"Excuse me?"

"You can have some privacy, of course, but if you strip naked and hit this button, it'll record your physiology. I could wear this thing looking like a Judoon if I wanted to. Since your species is monogendered, it'll recognize that, and I'll end up with all the necessary 'equipment.'"

"That'll be the day," she smirked, taking the device into the next room. The Kid looked at the TARDIS console, and groaned.

"Aww, hell…Distress signal…"

"Well, we should help, then, if we can," Conrad affirmed, standing and putting the book down. The Kid shook his head.

"A distress call from eighty years from when we left. We weren't even traveling through time, and we're going _backward_ to rescue some jerk that wandered into an asteroid field," the Kid explained. The TARDIS hummed and whirred, and gradually stopped. Aethyta walked out, slipping her arm through the sleeve. She handed the watch back to the Kid.

"Let's see it, then."

The Kid pressed a button, and he changed. He was now an Asari maiden. His clothes had adapted to his breasts.

"That is _so_ weird," Conrad grinned.

"Eh, I'm a Timelord," the Kid said; his voice had even changed, "Timelords occasionally regenerate into the opposite gender. My grandfather had a friend called the Corsair that, over the course of five regenerations, was a woman twice in a row. I wonder if we'll bump into him…Or her, as it were."

"Regenerate?"

"When Timelords are dying, they can avoid death by 'regenerating.' We glow and spout golden light from out hand and head, and when it stops, we're someone else. I'm on my first regeneration. My grandfather was on his eighth when I last saw him. As I understand it, he's regenerated twice since the Master last saw him. Normally we can regenerate twelve times."

"Why twelve?"

"I dunno. It's not even Fibbonacci," the Kid opened the door to the TARDIS.

"How long do your people live?" Aethyta asked, holstering a pistol as she followed. The Kid glanced at it, but said nothing.

"It depends. On Gallifrey, we age until our bodies die, and then we regenerate into a younger body. But when we're not on Gallifrey, we don't age, and we can live forever, I suppose. Rassilon is reported to have been born before the Time Lords even properly evolved."

"If we're going onto a ship before humans appeared, why are we allowing Conrad out of the TARDIS?" Aethyta asked, and the Kid looked at him.

"Good point," the Kid said, and he handed Conrad the watch. The Kid's disguised fizzled out.

"What, me? No way! I'm not growing a pair of boobs!"

"I have Batarian on there, dummy."

"How'd you get Batarian?"

"There was one at Torchwood; I had the local species all but Asari until Aethyta volunteered. It's better that you're disguised. I'm a Time Lord, we're unknown in your universe."

"Until you went about telling everyone on Illium," Aethyta teased, and the Kid gave a sneer.

"If you get caught as a human, then everyone's going to flock to Earth to wonder why humans are out in the universe before they've left their solar system," the Kid continued, "If I get caught, I'll just slip away."

"So you don't trust me to not get caught," Conrad said.

"Essentially."

"Right," he set it to turn him into a Batarian. He had a fair complexion, for a Batarian, and had yellow markings on his face.

"You're pretty cute like that," Aethyta mentioned.

"Can we?" the Kid motioned to the door; they were in a pantry. Aethyta poked her head out first; it was the kitchens. They made their way through; it looked as if everyone had left in a hurry. There was still food and cutlery out. Aethyta paused to sample some of it, and seemd pleased with what she tasted. Conrad motions to do the same, but she stopped him.

"Your heart would explode," she explained. The Kid sampled it, to Aethyta's horror. It was sweet, from the flesh of the animal rather than an additive. It was rich in some kind of matter he wasn't familiar with. His heart rate increased, but by no means exploded.

"Pretty good," he nodded. Aethyta's dropped jaw clenched, and she opened the next door, which was a dining hall. There were bodies, most of them Asari. The Kid went to the closest one and scanned it. He looked into the screwdriver, and the color drained from his already pale face.

"What? What is it?"

"We need to leave, immediately. This ship is already doomed."

"Why?" Conrad asked. His new voice was low and rumbling.

"Back to the TARDIS. Now."

"Mommy, there's people!" a little girl's voice called out. There was an Asari woman and a girl in the doorway.

"What are you doing here? It isn't safe here!" the woman called to them.

"You're telling me. We leave, now, Aethyta, Conrad," the Kid started on his way back to the TARDIS, but Aethyta didn't budge.

"Aethyta?" the Asari woman took several steps towards them. Aethyta stepped back.

"Benezia…"


End file.
